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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 924031 24641

THE TALE OF MY EXILE

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C All rights reserved )


BARINORA KUMAR CHOSE

1922

Publisbed by Arya Offlee, Poadlcherry

CONTENTS

Chapter I. The Voyage into the Unknown

„ II. A Survey of the Unknown

„ III. A Survey of the Settlement

„ IV. The Beginnings of the Cellular Life

„ V. The Reign of Khoyedad Khan

'„ VI. The Strike

„ VII. The Outcoine of the Strike

„ VIII. Strike again

„ IX. Causes of Degeneration among

Convicts

„ X. Some Snapshots from Prison Life

.

„ XI. A Summary of Sorrows

.. XII. A Personal Word

1

19

30

42

63

78

104

114

120

131

145

155

BarindraHumar Qhose

Cas an under-trial prisoner, 1908)

IrbUMAK AST SCHDOL^i

IV

The Tale of my Exile

CHAPTER I.

THE VOYAGE INTO THE UNKNOWN.

TT was perhaps on the 1 1th of December of the

yearl909. Therehasbeenacompleteoverhaul

of things during my twelve years' exile. Yet the

changes outside are not so remarkable when com-pafed to the change in my memory. This faculty

seems to have fallen into a moribund condition

and can only groan at its best. All the past events

have become there shadowy and uncanny ima-

ges, as it were, parading in a drunken brain. Cer-

tainly one must not expect from me any ordered

narration of facts in their logical relation' of time

and place. So I beg to be excused at the very

outset, if I happen to commit the blunder of pun-

ishing Jack for the crime of Peter. My only

hope is that I have Upen behind the curtain who


promises, in case of difficulty, to whisper loudly

enough into my ears ; and I on my side, promise

to repeat then just what he says and not fabricate

any thing out of my imagination. Therefore myreaders are kindly requested to consider this tale

of the Andamans as the joint utterance of two

tongues and to take it from me that whatever I

have 'said therein is true and pleasant— I have

not transgressed the injunctions of our Shastras

by saying either the untrue or the unpleasant.

While in the Alipur Jail, we were lodged in

the "Forty-four Degree ". The Alipur Jail of

those days has now been converted into the Presi-

dency Jail. The other day on our return from

the Andamans we could not recognise our ancient

bed of sorrows in its present transfigured aspect

of prosperity. I said, we were in the " Forty four

Degree ". This requires annotation, otherwise

my innocent readers would not easily understand

that the thing has no reference to any thermome-

tric affair. " Forty-four Degree " means a bar-

rack of 44 cells. These cells, although contiguous

to each other, have each its separate court-yard

of about 3 or 4 cubits square surrounded on all


sides by walls. To each yard there is a door closed

by a single wooden leaf. And in that leaf there is

an eyelet set with glass through which the guards

peep into the cage and observe the doings of the

two-legged animal within. Along the front of the

row of.cells runs another long yard which also in

its turn is bounded by high walls. In this yard

there is a sentry-box, that is to say, a small erec-

tion like a wooden chariot where the guards

take rest. It is here that the white sentry with his

blood-red face saunters about, rifle on shoulder,

and considers the whole world nothing more than

a toy. And yet these kilted, helmeted, blue-eyed

watchmen are not terrible things, they appear so

only when looked at from a distance. I have madefriends with them later on, handled them and

found them to be as harmless as our tame

and innocent Pussys.

The first three or four cells of this " Forty

four Degree " are called condemned cells, that is

to say, cells for prisoners condemned to death.

I and UUas were then booked to cross to the other

shore of the world, with the halter round our

necks. The order of execution was dangling over

3

THE TALE Ot MY EXILE

our heads, like a dagger suspended with a fine

thread. The Appeal was going on in the High

Court. If the judge was just, we would have to

be buried alive in the Andamans and if he was

unjust we would have to think of God and swing

down from the gallows. In either case the result

was almost the same. All others did the jute-

teasing, walked about in the yard outside at ba-

thing and meal time, and exchanged, behind the

backs of the Duennas, a few stealthy glances or

a still fewer jokes—at least, indulged in grinning

at each other to their hearts' content. But we two

were considered already as mere birds of passage

on this earth and were deprived of these plea-

sures. We were shut up without work night and

day ; we had to do our bathing and eating in

that closed and fenced court yard of 4 cubits

square. The only human beings we were allowed

to see were the bull-like jailor Mr. Hill, a super-

intendent whose "visitings were few and farbet-

-ween ", Mr. Wilshaw, the head warder, as worn

-out and wind-blown as the gouty horse of a

backney-coach and a jail policeman every three

hours in turn. As for natural scenery there was the

THE VOYAGE INTO THE UNKNOWN

capivating little bit of blue sky, the soothing yel-

low and sun-lit tops of a few mango, jack, aswa-

ttha and pepool trees peering over the walls 14

cubit high and the free wanderings of birds and

their unrestrained chirpings. We did not see

green grass and blossoming flowers and things

like them for seven months. Excepting once

I had not the opportunity to see or have the com-pany of a familiar and friendly soul in the

course of my daily routine. But I was then comp-

letely immersed in my Sadhana and so I could

bear this dearth of love and affection, this famine

to my eyes and ears. All suffering and sorrow

glided down like water over an oily surface, none

developed into a thorn and stuck into my bosom.

Mr. Hill was a man of tough fibre and yet

loved me much. He would fain have rocked mein his arms as if I were a babe and would say,

"One cannot believe that this creature has done

such a monstrous deed". A new Superintendent

replaced him for a few days. He had read a letter

written by me to my brother ( Aurobindo ) about

spiritual things. So he got hold of me and insisted

that I must give him Sadhana. I was in a fix. I


tried to make him understand in all possible ways

that I was a raw novice myself in these matters

and had absolutely nothing to give to others. But

he would not be refused. He stuck to me for

some time and then when he could not get round

me, became terribly wild with me. As for the

head warder, Mr. Wilshaw, he was bent upon

discoursing to me on " the Supreme Father in

Heaven " and the " Repentance of a Sinner. " I

respected his undaunted perseverance and listen-

ed to him with the utter humility of a devotee.

I did not want to wound his feelings by disclosiijg

to him the sort of iconoclast to whom he was

preaching the love of Christ, His father had been

an Engineer who it appears used to boil old

rusted nails in water and give his children the

iron tonic to drink. It was not difficult for meto understand after this the reason why the intel-

lect of the son got so rusted. The man was a

Quaker, absolutely simple but as great a bigot

as could be in upholding the sanctity of Law.

It was perhaps in the beginning of December

that the death sentence upon me and Ullaskar was

cpmmuted to transportation for life. That time


when I was about to die, I did not want to, die.

I prayed to God with my heart and soul, " Give

me back my life if only this time, I can not nowdie at ease and in the plenitude of the bliss that

lies in the emancipation from all bondage. '' Thesoul's earnest desire does not go unfulfilled. It

was perhaps why the Lord heard me. Death just

grazed past me. Tiger-like it fell upon Charu one

day and carried him off ifrom my neighbouring

cell. Another day the British Lion came and

broke Kanai's neck ; it came again some time

after and swallowed my uncle, Satyen. The De-

vourer came close to me, smelt my limbs like a

pet cat, . went round me and even prepared to

pounce, but suddenly turned back and departed.

Perhads its stomach was full, as it had already

feasted upon three entire patriots.

After the High Court judgment was given,we

remained for about a forlnight in the Alipur

Jail. Then came our turn to voyage in(o the un-

known—to go to the Andamans. In the afternoon

of the 11th of December, the ordinary convicts

put on bijtr-fetteis and, jingling them like anklets,

started for Taktaghat to embark on S. S. thi


Maharaja. Everything was arranged also to take

us out in the afternoon, but for some reason or

other we were fed and in the usual manner put

into our cells. But about 3 or 4 o'clock in the

early morning there was a hue and cry-—" Get up.

Get up 1 Be ready. " And in that biting cold,

with a cloth that barely reached our knees, a

kurta with half-sleeves and a turban on, we came

shivering in all our limbs and sat down in rows

near the gate. What a funny spectacle we must

have offered then ! A wooden ticket dan^glingon

to an iron ring round the neck,—just like the bell

that is hung on to the neck of a bullock—, fetters

on the legs and that apparel ! We looked at each

other's figure and could hardly contain our laugh-

ter. But we were still within the jurisdiction

of the prison and there was no means of throwing

ourselves on the ground and letting out the sup-

pressed sentiment with which we were burdened

to suffocation.

Pleasure and pain in this world are a mere

matter of circumstances. What is heart-rending

pain in one set of circumstances, is exactly the

"pleasure that is desired in another set of circum-

8

THE VOYAGE mxO THE UNKNOWN

stances. Take a boy of the Tagore: family, itrim

and tidy and finely costumed, pull him downfrom his motor car and force on him those gro-

tesque accoutrements in which we were, he will

perhaps in shame and grief run straight to the

Ganges and jump into its watei's to drown him-

self. But for us, we were siniply delighted with

the thing, our soul was absolutely tired of- the

same monotonous routine bi remaining shut up^

teasing jute, getting blows from the warders and

practising the austerity of forced silence. So even

this masquerading, being a new thing, was really

delightful to us. This voyage into the trackless

ocean, into the world of topsy-turvydom seemed

to us only a pleasant picnic.

When we came out of the prison, we saw

awaitin-g uswhatlooked like a Girls' Schobl omni-

bus. The carriage had about the same dimen-

sions, the shutters closing in on all sides in the

same -Way, and while it moved on, it gave out a

similar rumbling sound. We used to go to the

Court in this very carriage. We were then the

government's Zenana, more within the Purda

and more invisible to the sun than the most

9


respectable Indies. So we quietly got into that

hole and were locked in. We drove towards the

jetty, our hearts swimming in gladness. There

were mounted Policemen all around. On the foot

-board, on the top, on the sides of the carriage

there were European sergeants. The carriage

drove on shaking the streets. Something similar

to what happens when a sodawater bottle is sud-

denly opened befell us when the carriage start-

ed and our tongues, tied for seven long months,

found immediately full and free play. Wordssuppressed and stored up for such a long time be-

gan to shoot up like a gushing fountain, paying

no heed either to sequence or to sense.

When we reached the jetty there was yet

some time for daybreak. The Superintendent, Mr.

Emerson, was there standing with hfs bike. Moun-ted policemen could be seen in every direction.

We got on board the Maharaja, the ferry boat

that was to carry us across the Black Waters.

We were shoved in within a hold in thei lower

deck. A long chain was fixed on to the plankr

ing of that room and handcuffs were attached

to it at the interval of a yard or so. All the seven

10


of US were made to sit down and were handcuffed

in order. Then the door was locked and a sentry

placed outside. Now, let me tell the names of

these pioneer Andaman-goers of the pioneer

Bomb case. Their fame is, of course, already

world-wide and there is no necessity at all of

gilding the gold or painting thie lily. They were

1. Sri Barindra Kumar Ghose

2. Sri Ullaskar Datta

3. Sri Hem Chandra Das

4. Sri Hrishikesh Kanjilal

5. Sri Indu Bhushan Roy6. Sri Bibhuti Bhushan Sarkar

7. Sri Abinash Chandra Bhattacharyya

As soon as the door was locked and we were

left alone, the whole place became a regular pan-

demonium. In that queer position, with the hand-

cuffs on and lying on the floor aslant on one side,

some burst out in song, others raised a tremen-

dous storm of talk and chatter, others again shook

the entire ship with their sallies of jokes and

peals of laughter. What a din it was, what a row 1

But it bore good result. The Captain of the ship,

11


the guards and the pohce officers heaved a sigh

of relief. They understood fronj the hilarious

demonstration that they had. overshot the mark

in being too cautious. Perhaps they could not

sleep several nights over the anxious thought that

they would have to escort Bomb prisoners to

Port Blair. Perhaps they were afraid that these

desperate beings as soon aslthey. boarded the ship

would, like a band of mad elephants, bring it to

rack and ruin. But they found us to be quite a

merry-going sort of people ; and as soon as the

ship started they came and freed us from the hand-

cuffs. Upen and Sudhir had been left behind on

account of their illness. They came after us to

Port Blair. The officers of the ship told Upen,

"We had them handcuffed in the beginning, but

we found them quite a merry party and so let

them free.''

When thehandcuffs weretakenoff, we spread

our blankets wide and sat down in regular assem-

bly. Hemda and Ullasc/a were great singers in

ithat party. Besides, Ullas was an incomparable

comic actor and had an inexhaustible fund of

humour and wit. Hemda was not to be left far

12


behind in all that. Both of them matched each

other most perfectly. Grief and sorrow could not

in any way approach the placa where these two

happened to be present. One song followed an-

other in a continuous stream. Words that were

shut up so long began to gush out interminably

like fireworks. So long as we have our teeth, wedo not understand their value. We did not knowbefore what a relief it is to talk to men.

We did not know so many things and welearnt so many things during these long years

in which we had to lead the life of a shuttle buffet-

ted and bruised at every turn. The sort of world-

ly knowledge and. experience that most of us

had was not much greater than what the simian

allies of Sri Ramchandra possessed. I should,

of course, make an exception in favour of Hemda, who had wife and children, had had dealings

with police people in connexion with his service,

and who was, as it were, furnaced and ham-

mered into a man.

.Thus singing and chatting and playing and

joking we launched for our unknown Isle* We

13

THE TALK OF MY EXILK

had not the least idea of what the Kalapani was,

what we should eat, what we should do there.

There was a bucket by the side of a gutter

within the room. It was the latrine. If anybody

went there to meet the demands of Nature, the

others had nothing else to do but shut their eyes.

"Nothing is of avail so long as the triad—shame,

pride and fear—remains ". So the teaching goes

and the practice of it we began from now. There

was a port-hole, set with thick glass, in the

side of the ship. One could take a jump and be-

fore coming down again attracted by mother earth

have just a glimpse of the wild and tumultuous

bosom of the blue ocean. A thing of beauty is by

itself sufficiently attracting. And if it is momen-tary, into the bargain, the magic charm it throws

is irresistible. The full-moon night dedicated to

the goddess Laxmi comes only once in a year

and therefore it makes a thousand hearts so glad

and radiant and full to overflowing. If it were

a thing of everyday occurrence people would

have sighed for the ink-black New Moon and sat

down to write poetry on it. So a moment's vision

of the boundless limpid blue enthralled our sou).

U


like a beautiful face half-hidden behind the veil.

And time and anon, I andBibhuti and Indu and

Ullasrffl would take a spring, even with the fetters

on, and try to catch a sight of the thing that mere

eyes could hardly embrace.

At about two o'clock the door opened and

some people entered, like pilgrims to Jugger-

nath, with bundles and baggages and baskets.

What was the matter ? We learnt that they were

Bhandaris (stewards) and came to distribute

fried oats, ehuda, chilli and salt among us. So

we must live on chuda ! Heavens, what a stag'

gering blow it was ! We asked the time and thpy

said it was two o'clock in the afternoon. Wewere dumb-founded. We thought it was nine

o'clock in the morning. We were so much taken

up with our conversation that we had lost all

sense of time. None noticed when and how the

hours had slipped by without giving us the least

intimation. All on a sudden volleyed out the inter-

minable cry, "Have chuda," " Ha.ve chhola "I

What the deuce did they mean ? Were we houses,

or were we Bhojpur Darwans that we should

munch chuda ? "Chuda and that sort of thing

15


won't do, my dears sirs. Can't you give us rice ?"

—so we said. They replied, "The Mussahnans

cook rice and the Mussalmans eat it; but the Hin-

dus, ever afraid of their fragile caste, eat only oats

and save their dharma. "I murmured " O Mo>

ther. Goddess of Plenty ! Hast thou then put onthe appearance of a Mollah in these days of dire

necessity ?" A rebellious "young Bengal" fromamong us rolled his wrathful eyes, flourished

his clenched fist and uttered "Who can des-

troy our caste ? Our dharma is built in iron,

come on, let us' have the mlechha rice, we shall

eat it. Are not the Mlechhas men?" The Sikh

policemen were very much enraged at this.

They said " Would you give up your caste, Ba-

bus ? AH right, we shall cook for you. " The

hungry Bengalee is proverbially known to run

after rice with the blind dash of a wild boar.

It was rice that we wanted and we did not care

from where it came. So we said "Amen ". Wehad chuda in the morning and in the afternoon

th& delightful rice with some pumpkin prepara-

tion. Abinash had an abscess in the tubercular

glands. The doctor prescribed milk for him.

16

THE VOYAGE INTO THE:UNKNOWN

And then we were to get up on the deck

to take air. We mounted a steep and narrow

wooden staircase and what a task it was for us,

laden as we were with fetters. But when we rea-

ched the top, the scene that revealed itself to us

was incomparable, beyond any words to express.

No shore was visible on any side. There was only

the blue water breaking into waves and over it

the blue sky leaning down to kiss it. What a tran-

quil and entrancing far-flung infinite above and

what a magic vastness below tremulous with

delight !

The poet says of the Sacred river

—

" The sins of the Earth are being washed away into its

Tast and deep bosom. It resounds with the clattering of the

shattered ro^ks oi all evijs and dangers. When the dread

hour of doom strikes—

"

the spectacle of the ocean is as comforting and

as full of a sweet meaning as that of the Narma-

da. We were seven in that room of ours, And

there were seven miserable women prisoners

in the adjoining room, who alsp with the sen-

tence of transportation on their heads were nowdrifting like us, perhaps into a far greaiter un-

17


known. We were then eager to know what sort

of a thing the Andamans were. We gathered

something about it from the sentries, who all

belonged to the police force of the Andamansand the Nicobars.

On the morning of the 1 5th there appear-

ed the shore like a black line far upon the

bosom of the wide azure. We were taken to the

deck at eleven. The infinite expanse of the un-

known had then drawn in and showed on either

side a magic creation of Nature's woodlandbeauty. And what a beauty it was that the Earth

offered, with the hills and forests as her locks

and tresses ! How could cruel fetters be as-

sociated with what was so beautiful ! Yet, this

anomaly did indeed stand incarnate in the An-

damans, this fowler's trap set there to catch men.

But one would hardly believe it from its appea-

rance. And yet do we not know how many sins

and deaths are likewise hidden behind the snare

that feminine Beauty has spread in our world ?

The blossoming lotus has its roots in the mudand its stalk is encircled by the serpent. Such

is the art of the divine artifex.

18

CHAPTER 11

A SURVEY OF THE UNKNOWN

'"P'HE Andamans and the Nicobars are groups-*- of islands in the Bay of Bengal. They lie

like a chain severed and spread out from end to

end. The chain begins at a distance of 590 miles

from the mouths of the Hughly. The nearest ap-

proach from the Andamans to the continent of

India is Cape Negres in Burma, a distance of

160 miles. Within this range again there are two

other small groups of islands, named the Peparis

and the Coco. The former is situated just in the

midway, while the latter almost touches the

Andamans. There are, moreover, two Cbcos, a

large one and a small one.

The Andamans consist of four principal

islands which are ranged in a line from North

to South. To one going from India, the first

that comes in the way is the Xorth Andaman,

then the Middle Andataan and finally the South

Andaman. Ail these three lie close together and

19


are oval-shaped.. Further to the south of the

South Andaman there is a small island, called

the Rutland Isle. Round about these four there

lie scattered innumerable groups of diminutive

islands. It will be sufHcieut to name some of the

important ones among them. To the west coast

of the North and the Middle Andaman there is the

Interview Island and near the east coast of the

South Andaman there are the Havelock Island

;and the Archipelago,

The North Andaman is 51 miles in length,

the Middle Andaman 59 miles, the South Anda-

man 49 miles and Rutland only 11 miles. These

four form the Great Andaman. About 28 miles

to the south of this group lies the Little Anda-

man which is 30 miles in length and 17 miles

in breadth.

All the islands are full of hills and fo-

rests. The land is stony and yet it is so beauti-

ful. It has veiled half its limbs with its wood-

land tresses and has half submerged itself in

the bosom of its lover, the wild and erratic sea.

One does not know when did the lady descend

for the first time to take her bath, H6r hath-

20


inJ5 game has not ended even to-day. H<er pit-

cher has perhaps floati'd away over the dark

waves, but the hill-girl is too busy with iher play

Jo take note of the thing !

The highest peak of these hills is in North

Andaman. It is called the Saddle Mountain and

has a height of 3000 ft.

The play of the six seasons here is very cha-

racteristic. The rains are almost always a com-mon factor. The only other prominent season is

the summer. One can hardly detect when and

how the rest of the seasons peep and pass ofif

stealthily before or behind those two. All the

seasons are more oi less damp with the rain ex-

cepting the summer and the few months of

the temperate winter. Sometimes it is one con-

tinuous menace of masses of pitch-dark clouds;

at other times it is an alternate play of rain and

sunshine—like the mingled tears and laughter

of a wilful woman. Before, the rain con-

tinued for 8 months but now the period has

become shorter, after the forests have been

cleared to some extent. Altogether, there is no

fixity about the seasons. All of them run into

21


each other and offer a most kaleidoscopic spec-

tacle.

The, dark waters of the sea have cleft the

sides of this rocky woodland in all directions

and have fornied innumerable channels into it.

Leaves rot here when the water goes out with

the ebb-tide and so malaria has found a very

congenial home in this place. The armies of

mosquitoes that carry that disease are simply

incalculable. There is a species of mosquitoes

which are very strange to look at and as big as

spiders. They stand on their long, and lanky

legs and swing continually and swing so fast

that they are hardly visible. Mosquitoes and

small flies are so abundant in the forest that

it is not possible for any human being to re-

main there for any length of time. Besides, there

are leaches of which any number can be seen

on leaves and grass and KachU hushes. They

remain hidden when the sun shines. But a little

shower is sufficient to invite them out in hun-

dreds ; they sally forth if they get only the

smell of man, they drop on his head from above.

The biggest typfe of centipede that is found here

22


is about 1 cubit long and 1 inch thick. Its bite

has produced even paralysis. Snakes are not

very poisonous. The cobra is almost a rarity.

There was a sort of small snake, of the viper kind,

whose poison brought instantaneous and certain

death. But this snake is now found sometimes

only in the deeper parts ot the forests. The Anda-

mans are specially a land of insects and butterflies.

There were almost no wild birds before.

And the few that there were, could not be

seen on the Indian coasts. The Artamas and

Oriolus of the Andamans are found only in the

far-off Java, and the shrike in China and the

Philippines. There were a few pigeons, king-

fishers and wood-peckers. After the colony had

been established the Government imported some

crows, sparrows, parrots, kites, cranes and other

birds and let them loose here. It is these. that

are now propagating their species. The peacock

has also been imported. There is also a small

frugivorous bat which there existed before.

Of the wild animals there were boars, wild

cats and a kind of rat with a row of long hair

on the back. Now cows, buffaloes and goats


and also wild deer, jackals and dogs have been

brought over and domiciled. These alsOjlike us,

have been transported for all their life. Fero-

cious animals, such as the tiger and the bear, do

not exist here at all. As for the creatures that peo-

ple the ocean, there is an infinite variety of them

—conch, oister, snail, the rain-bow coloured tor-

toise—what strange forms and what variegated

colours ! There is a kind of fish which has ex-

actly the face of a horse, another which has the

bill of a crow, and yet another—the bladder fish

—which looks like a human head. There is the

" badmash "( rogue ) fish with the appearance

of a shark and the jelly-fish, like a bit of lim-

pid ice. The shankar fish is also abundant,

Its tail makes a very good whip. It can with a blow

of its tail cut open the flesh and break the bone.

The bladder fish, when frightened, swells up,

looking like a decapitated human head and puffs

out jets of water from its mouth and stares with

its eyes wide open. There is another kind of fish

which in fright, throws out some inky substance

to make the water turbid and escapes.

The place is not rich in natural products.

24


Port Blair and the Nicobars grow mainly coco-

nut trees. The forests grow also Sal, Garjan,

Padouk, Coco and other trees which yield good

timber. This and coconuts are the principal ar-

ticles of trade. Only a small portion of this

woody country is inhabited by men and under

cultivation and that is Port Blair. The Giavern-

ment is now trying to have small establishments

here and there in the Middle and the North

Andaman. The rest of this archipelago is co-

vered with dense and almost impenetrable fo-

rests. The forest Department has made a sur-

vey of these forests and has prepared maps and

charts. These show the number of trees in each

square mile, the location of all waterfalls and

basins. Most of them have been drawn by

Hemrffl.

The Government has a monopoly of an-

other trade article, which is called the Edible

Bird's Nest. The swift is a small black bird

which prepares, with a saliva-like secretion

from its mouth, a kind of white nest. The Edible

Bird's Nest is a medicine for nervous debility.

It is something like white wax, has no taste

25


and is taken with milk. There is a great deinand

for it in China and in Rangoon,

The first use of the Andamans as a penal

settlement dates from the Sepoy Mutiny. Its

history, previous to that event, is quite uncertain

and vague.

The name Andamahs is found in the writ-

ings of the Arabian travellers, of Marco Polo,

Nicolo Conti and others. The Fourth Regula-

tion of 1797 gave the Nizamat Adalat the power

to transport prisoners. At that time, the places

for transportation were Singapore, Penang,

Malaca, Tenasserim, and others. The first at-

tempt to convert the Andamans into a penal

settlement was made in 1788-89 under the direc-

tion of Engineer Colebrooke and Captain Blair.

The penal settlement was twice established, first

in the Chatham Isle of the South Andaman and

then in the Cornwallis Port of the North Anda-

man, but on both the occasions it had to be

given up, as man could not live in such unheal-

thy places. After the Mutiny Dr. F. Mouat came

and recommended the Chatham Isle for keeping

prisoners. So in 18S8 thenew Settlement wasstar-

26


ted with rebel prisoners; ordinary prisoners began

to be lodged herefrom 18^3; In 1870 Colonel

Henry Man hadthejungles and forests cleared, the

ditches filled up and thus made the place tolera-

bly healthy. Some 13000 mal'e prisoners and from

700 to 800 female prisoners are kept here usually.

The free population num'bers about 2000.

The natives of these islands are a wild and

aboriginal people. They remain naked and are

called Jarrawallah. They are perfect marks-

men in archery artd shoot down men with arrows

whenever thtey happen to meet one. Like the

Semang tribe of Malay, the Jarras are short in

stature, black in complexion, have small and

well-shaped ears and possess close-cropped but

curly hair. There is a tall-statured and long-

haired section of the Jarras which is found,

it appears, in the Rutland and the Interview

Isle. Perhaps they are products of a mixture

with some other tribe. The /arras generally are

4^ ft. high, remain naked, have almost no beard

and mark their forehead with a tattoo point.

They paint all their limbs with white and red

earth. Their food is fish, tortoise, honey and

27


wild fruits. They are a race of fighters. There

is no escape from their hands when once they

fix the arrow to their 6 ft long bow of hard

wood. They come so silently and stealthily, like

a wild b"ast, that they do not attract any atten-

tion. They observe from a distance and shoot

the arrow with an unerring aim. There has

been no truce as yet between them and the En-

glish. They remain away in the forests from

fear of rifles and guns. They come now and

then near the skirts and when they have taken

their toll of one or two victims are driven off

again. They are a monogamous race. They are

very skilful in swimming. Their population is

about 8 to 10 thousand.

Five years after the establishnient of the

settlement at Port Blair, a band of these savages

came to be tamed by the English. These are

no longer called Jarras, but Janglis (Savages)

—the real Jarras never fail to kill them even, if

once they see them. The Government has crea-

ted some barracks for them. These Janglis come

to the barracks with honey, tortoise-shells, sea-

shells, conches, oysters and various other forest

28


and sea products which, they gather in itheif

roamings. The munshi of the barracks gives

them tobacco, tea, sugar, glass-beads or what-

ever they choose to have in return for 'heir

articles, which he then stocks in the godownfor sale or sends to the show room. They, re-

main for 8 or 9 days and when they have suffi-

ciently rested, go, out again to scour the forests.

The men put on a lenguti ( a band of cloth ),

3 or 4 inches wide. The women wear leaves and

sometimes also a kind of frilled bark or plaited

fibres of some trees. This latter is of course the

sign of growing civilisation. I have seen small

boys and girls in the barracks whose fathers

were Ooriyas or even Sahebs. There was a girl

—most probably issue of a European father

—who was so pretty that she did not at all

look like a Jangli. Very often she used to throw

off her clothes and other useless trappings of

civilisation and run, away to roam in the forests

as she pleased. She;COuld not abandon her wild

nature of a free bird in the free sky.

Their, language is not understandable. It

has a nasal twang and is not at all rich in voca-

29

THE TALE OK MY EXILE

bulary. They have a very thin voice. They natu-

rally possess the sharp contralto that ( European

)

ladies take so muqh pains to master and at-*

tain.

The Barrack of the jangiis is near the

Shore Point and there is a hcKpital for them

-which is near the Haddo station. Till now two

Jangli women have learnt English and have

become christians. One' of them is the matron

of the hospital and the other is the female com-panion of the Chief Commissioner's wife.

CHAPTER III.

A SUKVEY OF THE SETTLEMENT

T have tried to give a general idea of what sort

-*- of a thing the Prison-Island is in itself. I will

now describe first the outside arrangements con-

nected with^tlie prison. The S. S. Maharaja

goes to Calcutta at the interval of forty days to

bring the convicts. During these forty days it

goesortce to Madras and twice to 'Rangoon. A

30

A SURVEY OF THE SETTLEMENT

consignment despatched from Calcutta may con-

sist, however, of Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi,

Hindusthani, Ooriya and Madrasee convicts. Or-

dinary prisoners on their arrival are landed at first

in the Quarantine Camp, near Hope Town. This

camp is just bglow Mount Harriet and is in charge

of a convict Compounder and a convict Jamadar.

When a fresh batch is in here, no othef prisoners

are admitted. The batch remains shut up in this

place for two weeks. This is to prevent plague

or any contagious disease from entering Port

Blair, The prisoners have to lie d6wn and sleep

all these days with their fetters and other para-

pbarnalia exactly as they come. They are also

given from time to time light work, .^uch as

mowing the grass and sweeping the roads.

On the 16th day the prisoners are removed

from the Plague Gamp to the prison. The

march to the prison is a real sight to see. Bun-

dles and beddings are on bent backs and dou-

bled up bodies, the fetters jingling like anklets

on the legs, all the eyes quivering and starring

with fear. The miserables trudge along row

after row. In front and behind the red-turbaned

31


warders shout "This side", "Go straight",

" Sit down ", '' Sarcar " and drive that flock of

terrified cattle. And finally the prison appeats

with its huge massive structure of a fortress. ThePetty Offiders^ the Janiadars and the Tindals

come in black uniform, red turban on the head

and bludgeon in hand. The warders vociferate

fiercely. The poor prisoners almost feel they

are dead already. Then begins the ceremony of

breaking the' fetters and changing the dress. Onthe next day after a sort of medical examination

—by Mr. Murray who ruled in our time^-

Mr. Barry assigned work to the convicts. This

King Yama of the Prison, with his huge pot

belly, flat nose, blood-red face comes holding a

stick under his arm and thrusting into his

mouth a four inches long and proportionately

broad Burma cheroot that juts out of the prickly

bush of his moustache. He slowly marches

in front of the file of prisoners and orders as he

writes down on their tickets, " Six months sepa-

rate confinement," "two pounds jute-teasing",

"one year lockup, oil-grinding", "Two years

imprisonment, six months separate confinement"

32

A A SURVEY OF THE SETTLEMENT

and so on. Those who are given oil-grinding

bid adieu to sleep for that night. They are fortu-

nate who get the work of a water-carrier or

sweeper or rope-maker and heave a sigh of re-

lief. But those who get coir-pounding are in a

state of suspense, as it were, between life and

death. For coir-pounding although a lighter

task than oil-grinding is still not:quite easy.

The convicts in this way, either in happi-

ness or in sorrow, serve each his term of punish-

ment and one day come out of the prison ^or

a freer life outside. Then they are no longer

the raw, timid and simple souls of old. They have

suffered much,, t.hey have cheated and been

cheated much, they have been trained in the

hands of expert and veteran jail-birds. So even

if they are not perfect rogues yet, they have

made immense progress towards that ideal.

The day before they are released from the

prison, a telephone is sent to the Aberdeen sta-

tion and one Tindal with four or five Petty

Officers arrives to take charge of them. The con-

victs come from the Indian prisons with dhoti,

kurta and turban. They enter the Andaman

33


prison with shorts, kurta and topi. And whenthey are let off for settlement life they put on

their old suit again and thus get back their old

status. The chief overseer of the prison, the

jailor, Mr. Barry, and the gate-keeper hand over

totheTindaloutside these 70 or 80 convicts form-

ing one batch along with their beddings, utensils

and clothes. So soon as this is done, once

more the cry of. the guards—"Two by twos",

"Stand up" and so on—startles and terrifies

the pbor creatures and once more they are dri-

ven, with baggage on their backs, to a Tapoo

or station outside. Here orders of the higher

authorities are already secured on the fife-

vious day and accordingly the Munshi and

the Jamadar divide the whole batch into groups

of 10 or 12 and send each to its assigned place.

Port Blair is divided into four Districts, (1)

the Ross District, (2) the Eastern District, (3)

the Western District and (4) the Jail District.

The Ross Isle is the chief town and therefore

forms a district by itself. The Eastern District

has the following stations : Aberdeen, Phoenix

Bay, Middle Point, Navy Bay, Paharh G'aon

34


and Haddo. The special works that are given

to Aberdeen convicts are road-making, goods-

lading at the Jetty, stone-breaking and sweeping.

They are also engaged in the Engineering Go-

down and in the coconut file. Phoenix Bay "has

a large workshop which manufactures various

articles from iron,, brass, conch-shells, tortoise

shell and wood. Some three to four hundred

people are engaged here. Besides this there arc

also, ail the usual works, such as sweeping, road-

makingj and other things. The Middle Point is

named by the convicts chholdari. The con-

victs of this place have to do the usual works

and besides some have to go and work in

the garden and the Engineering Godown at

Haddo. There are large vegetable gardens and

fruit-gardens at Navy Bay. The convicts here

have to do also repair works at the embank-

ment. The convicts of Paharh Gaon come

to assist in these works at Navy Bay and also

go to the forests t© cut canes. There is also a

big hospital at Haddo.

The stations in the Western District are

Chatham, Shore Point, the Jangli Barrack,

35


Dundas Point, Viper, Wimberleygunj, Kalatang

and Baratang. * Chatham is famous for its Saw-

mill. All the timbers of the Andaman Forest

Department are sawed here by machine and

planks, rafters and beams are made out of them.

Shore Point has a fish-gang and a coconut-gang.

There is also an Engineering Godown here. The

Jangli Barrack has already been described in

connexion with the savage tribes of the Anda-

mans. Dundas Point is famous for its brick-

kiln. Some hundreds of convicts work here.

Viper is the Chief-Town of the Western District.

The District Officer has his Court and bangalow

here. The chief works here are connected with

the vegetable garden, the play-ground, the Hos-

pital, the Jetty file and also bamboo and cane

cutting. At Wimberleygung there is a curd-house

and a fuel file. The jurisdiction of the Forest

Department begins from this place and continues

up to Baratang. Kalatang is in the midst of the

deep forest. Here is the tea garden of the re-

doutable manager Mr. Minto. This place is a

terror to the convicts, for the work in the tea

garden is most difficult. Baratang lies still fur-

36


ther in the heart of the' forest and is the chief

centre of the Forest Department,

A station means a block of 6 or 7 barracks.

Each station is in charge of a convict Jamadarand a convict Munshi. A convict becomes by

gradual promotions in the course of 10 or 12

years a Jamadar. He then gets a red badge to

which is attached a brass plate with the word

Jamadar inscribed on it. This he slings across his

shoulder, like the sacred thread. The Jamadar

gets a salary of Rs. 8 a month and also daily

ration. Under the Jamadar is the Tindal who has

a black and red badge with a brass plate mark-

ing the designation of his position. Under each

Jamadar there are 4 or 5 Tindals. Under the

Tindal IS the Petty Officer who has only a

black badge and no brass plate. There are some20 to 25 Petty Officers in each station.

One barrack can contain 60 to 70 convicts.

It is a wooden construction with tiled roof.

The floor is made of planks that rest upon posts

and is a little high above the ground. It has no

wall, but instead a trellis-work of wood on all

37

THE TALE OF MY EXILK

sides. In that room the convicts spread their

bed of gunny and blanket side by side in three

or four rows and lie down. There is a water

closet on one side. Each barrack has two lights.

There are four Petty Officers and a Jamadar at

the head. Sometimes a simple Tindal does the

watching along with the Petty officers. Each

has to watch for three hours in turn. The bar-

rack is closed exactly at night-fall. But the real

closing is at 8 o'clock, wheh the time is announ-

ced by gun-fire. After this, no one can go out.

There are two roU-calls, one just at night-fall

and the other at 8.

Early in the morning there is another roll-

call. The Tindal comes followed by all the

Petty Officers and gives the order, " Sit up, each

on his bed ", and then they march down the

rows and do tiie counting, as of a flock of sheep.

Thereupon the convicts come out and finish

their morning toilette. There are several vats

which the water-carriers fill with *" sweet water"

toiling during the whole day. " Sweet " how-ever does not mean that the water is scented and

sugared. This is a land of salt water and so

38


sweet water ( mitha pani ) means nothing but

drinking water. Each convict has to go with

an iron can to a Water-can ier who doles out

the water in a small tin-mug.

Then again they are made to sit down two

by two. The poet Shelley wrote Love's Philo-

sophy in wliich he said, "Nothing in the

world is single;" In Port Blair the Petty Offi-

cers and Tindals are ever eager to demonstrate

this Love's Philosophy by sheer blows. One

has to hear at all sorts of hours, in the day and

in the night, when one is up and when one is

down, this eternal cry, "Be in couples". If

you rebel, you have forthwith the bludgeon on

your back or belly or some appropriate place or

other. These people are such expert mathemati-

cians that they cannot count unless the mensit in couples. They are proceeding with the

counting marvellously enough, shouting at the

top of their voice " one, two, three " but sud-

denly if at the end of the 10th pair they comeacross a poor fellow sitting alone and single, all

is thrown into confusion. Blows and kicks are

showered profusely upon the miserable sinner,

39

THE TALE OF MV EXILE

until he is paired with somebody. The count-

ing then begins again afresh.

The convicts of all the barracks are gather-

ed together in this morning review. And" when

the " all right " report is given, the Jamadar and

the Munshi divide them in files in accordance

with the works of the Station. That is to say,

the Jamadar separates a group of some 10 or 12

from one side of the entire lot in review and

hands them over to the charge of, say, the Engi-

neering Foreman, The Munshi notes the thing

down immediately. And this is called the P.W. D.

File. Again some thirty are taken out and

are given over to the man in charge of the gar-

den. The Munshi as usual makes a note in his

book. And this is the Garden File. Now the

men-in-charge take their respective groups to

the various centres of work, apportion to each

individual his work and keep him engaged till

10 o'clock. After 10, there is again the commo-tion of "falling in", of counting and recount-

ing and of returning to the Station. At the Sta-

tion the Jamadar counts again and receives back

his charge. Then follows bathing and dinner

40


and rest pp to 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

Then one has again to be present at \he filing,

to group under his Tindal or Petty Officer andstart for the work.. The dismissal comes at about

4 or 5 o'clock. At five all the men sit downfor meal in a long linCj each with a plate and a

cup ( bati ) in front. Till night-fall one is, allow-

ed to walk near about the station and talk

and make merry freely.

The time from after the morning meal at 10till the files go out in the afternoon is the momentfor the gunja-smoker to have a secret puff or two.

' It is the auspicious hour for the gambler. It is

then that the mbtiey-seeker gets his opportunity

of earning, by fishing, gathering betel in the fo-

rest, and by a thousand other devices, T!;iis is

also the time when the men flock round the par-

ticular divinity whom they want to propitiate-—

whether it be the Jamadar Qr the Munshi, or the

Tindal or the Ration-mate, each now receives

his quota of Worship in the shape of flattery and

other offerings from his group of proteges.,

There.is no work on Sunday. One has lOnly

to clean and sweep the place about the station

/*!


for an hour or two in the morning. You may be

down on your bed the whole day. Or if you like

you may try to gain the good graces of the offi-

cer in charge of your barrack by offering him

sweet words or still sweeter coins and go over

to some other station to see a friend of yours.

This is in general terras the life outside the

prison.

CHAPTER IV

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CELLULAR LIFE

OUR ship arrived in the harbour. On the

north lay the Ross Isle, on the south

the Aberdeen Jetty and the Cellular Jail looming

like a huge fortress, on the east Mount Harriet

with its green luxuriance and on the west the

infinite perspective of the sea. Where did we

come at last to anchor in this shoreless ex-

panse ? Should we, when we had lost all

moorings, find ourselves always thus again

42

THE BEGINNINGS OP THE CELLULAR LIFE

ashore? Perhaps it was not, the harbour that

we sought for and yet Nature appeared there in

such a beautiful and captivating aspect ! The

Ross Isle looks from the bosom of the harbour

like a veritable landscape painting. On the

hill-side at various levels lies in natural negli-

gence, as it were, the red and the white build-

ings intermixed with the green of the trees and

woods. Those of my readers who have seen

Shillong from a distance may form an idea of

the picture. The only difference is that in the

present case there is the profuse abundance of

the liquid blue round about the hills, the pas-

sionate heaving of the naked bosom of the

wild sea. The sombre Jetty touches the waters

of the Ross. Above, the buildings rise, tier upon

tier, along a meandering path and half-veil

themselves in the woods. At the top is the

Bangalow of the Chief Commissioner, of which

the red-tiled roof can be noticed from a dis-

tance. The Union Jack flies over the place and

IS taken down only when the official is absent.

There is a barrack of British troops in the

western corner of the Ross, almost in the em-

43


brace of the sea. A isky-sci'aping post is planted

here which carries a red flag at the top when-

ever it is required to announce the coming in

of a steamer. Also it 'is meant to be decorated

with f6stoons of flags and eilsigns on all State

occasions such as the celebration ' of the king's

birthday.

The highest peak in the Andamans is nam-

ed Mount Harriet. It is the summer residence,

that is to say, the Simla Hills of the archipelfegc

There are many Bangalows on the top of this

hill. The Chief Commissioner and other of6-

eials come here and spend some weeks during

the hottest part of the summer or whenever they

are in any way indisposed* When we were in

the Andamans we found the State prisoners of

Manipur kept here. The Government had granted

them free lodgings and even lands, also monthly

allowance and daily ration. They were released

later on by the King's Proclamation on the

occasion of the Peace celebration. MoUht Har-

riet is all covered with dense woods. It seemfe

as if a shaggy bear is sleeping quietly, hiding its

muzzle within its paws. The woods have in

i4

tHE BEGINNINGS Ol"* THE CELLULAR UhE

some places the deepest blue colour; at othef

places where there are rieem and bamboo and

tamarind trees they look like a mosaic of light

yellow and again in some places they are red

with the copper-coloured leaves. A stream has

burst O^en the hard Bosom of the rocks and

flows down like a current of silver. It embraces

the foot of the hill and trips forward with a

gurgling music td meet the ocean'.

A steam launch dragged a tighter iot us and

lay by the ship. The Senipr Medical Officer,

the Jailor and various other officers came and

went away. All around there was rushing and

whirling of motor boats, canoes, lighters and

steamf-launches. Noiv, before 1 proceed fuHher

I should give here boihe idea of the Cellular Jail,

otherwise my innocent readers might lose them-

selves in a labyrinth of confusion in trying to

follow me.

Picture the Jail as a sort of map in the

centre of which there is a point. This point

represents a three-storied pillar or minaret. It

is the Central Tower or Goomti. The circum-

ference of a circle drawn round this centre re-

42

thk tale of mV exile

presents the outer wall of the Jail. From the

Central Tower seven straight lines or radii are

drawn in different directions to join the circum-

ference. These seven radii represent the seven

blocks of the prison. Like the Central Tower,

the blocks also have all "three stories. In each

story there is a suite of some twenty or thirty

rooms. Each room has a doot- closed by iron

bars only, with no door leaf. On the back of the

room, at a height of 4 cubits and a half, there

is a small window, closed also with iron rails

two inches apart. Of furniture in the roomthere is a low bedstead 1 cubit and a half wide

and in one corner an earthen pot painted with

tar. One must have a most vigilant sleep on such

a bed, otherwise any the least careless turn would

land the sleeper with a bang on the floor. Andthe tarred pot is a most marvellous invention to

produce equanimity of soul with regard to

smell, for it is the water-closet and one Jias

to share merrily its delightful company during

the whole night. Also it is by the grace of this

pot that one is compelled to master many of

the 84 Asanas. The sweeper brings it in regu-

i6

THE BEGIKNINGS OF THE CELLULAR LIFE

larly every afternoon just before the prison is

closed and takes it away every morning.

I have said that' the rooms are in a row.

There is a veranda 3 or 4 cubits wide runningall along the front. This also is surrounded byiron railings fixed into the arched pillars that

support the roof of the veranda. All these corri-

dors meet at the Central Tower which has thus

the only gate for entrance and exit. This gate

is closed in the night. The rooms are shut by

means of iron bolts and locks from outside

and cannot be reached from within. Each

Block, I have said, is three-storied and consists of

the Upper Corridor, the Middle Corridor and the

Lower Corridor. At night four warders are placed

in each line ( or corridor ) to keep watch. They

do it by turn, each for three hours. They saun-

ter to and fro all along the line, with a hurri-

cane lantern in hand, and observe from time to

time what the human animals may be doing in

their cells. In the whole Jail there are 21 ward-

ers who mount guard simultaneously in the

21 lines of the 7 blocks. When they have finish-

ed their turn they wake up the next batch. So

47


•

in all 84 people share among themselves this

pleasing duty of pas&ing a sleeples? night. There

is a sentry in the Central Tower who moves like

some planetary body qontinually up and downthe stories. Wtien he comes near a block, the

warder on watch there shouts and reports. " 20

cells locUed, four warders, all right." Now,

there is no love lost between the sentry and the

warder. Because if the warder happens to sit

down or place his lantern on the ground,

the sentry is sure to report the matter and get

him punished. So the poor warder, in his fearful

anxiety to win the favour of the sentry sahib,

takes recourse to so many tricks and contrivan-

ces and gestures and attitudes that even half of

them, had they been known to Menaka, Ram-bha and the other courtesans of Paradise, would

have been quite sufiicient to annihilate the

whole race of the Munis and Rishis.

Each block has a large courtyard in front.

And each courtyard ;has a workshop where the

prisoners work during the day. On one side there

is also a cistern about 1 cubit wide and 10

cubits long to hold water and near by a latrine

48

THE BEGINNINGS OF, THE qELLULAR LIFE

made of corrugated iron. There is a pumping-

machine outside the jail in the garden near the

êa and a little farther a huge cisterp. Thjs cistern

is fililed^ with sea-water by the pump. That water

is. again carried by means of pipes, to the several

smaller cisterns inside Jhe seven blocks. This wa-

ter is meant for bathing and washing. Drinking-

water is supplied from a pipe near the Central

Tower. The water-carriers of each block take the

sweet water from there and store in tins and

buckets.

Surrounded with pplicemen and sentries

we descended from ;the ship and tpok our seat

in the lighter. Theti the, steam launcl> carriied us

towards ; the Aberdeen Jetty. We landed here

and started in njarching^

order up the steep

slope—like a herd of camels—bowing down

under both a physical and a rnen,tal wejglit anid

dragging our fettersÎways on our legs.. We ar-

rived, altijost falling prostrate at th^ hugeâte

of the Cellular., We passed by th(^ offices and

godowns that were on either,side ,of ,,the gate.

We crossed the outer gate and^hen tlpe inner.

Here the,gate-keeper counted arid, enrolled us,

49


and then finaily we entered into this strange

harem. The account wliich was thus opened in

our names, was to be closed Only after 12 years.

We were batiished indeed, even as Sri KamChandra, with this advantage on our side that

we had no faithful Sita Devi to cook our fodd.

Neither had we a docile and devoted brother

like Lakshman nor the army of monkey-friends

to secure us ripe plantains. Besides, Sri Ram

Chandi-a was punished only with simple de-

portation, whereas our fate was to undergb

rigorous imprisonment. So if the sheer weight

of punishrhent were takert into consideration we

shbuld stand as far bigger avatars than RamChandra, If anybody does not admit this, I

Would earnestly request him to pay a visit to

Mr. Barry's kingdonl and do the oil-grinding

and coif-poiiriding for a week Only. One week

Would be sufficient to make him feel what an-

other avatar felt on the cross. If he remained two

years he would begin to grow his wisdom tooth

anew. And if he coiild pass twelve years he would

be disabused of all doubts as to whether by beat-

ing an ass you can turn him into a man. At least

50

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE CELLULAR LWE

I, for one, have never come across anything that

gives as much direct knowledge as a sojourn

in transportation. Jesting apart, as a mattpr

of fact, suqh ordeals alone are pregnant with the

blessings of God.

We crossed the gate and stood in a file

near the garden. It is here that we Had for the

first time a full view of Mr. Barry. The goat

does not fear the tiger half so much as the prison-

ers feared this king of the Black Waters. Mr.

Barry was fat and short. His ghee-fed belly put

to shame even the paunch of a Marwari. Hehad a flat and crimson nose. The eyes were

round and the moustache prickly, that gave him

something like the look of a blopd-thirsty tiger.

He came and delivered a long speech, the gist

of which was as follows : "You see the wall

around, do you know why it is so low ? Because

it is impossible to escape from this place. The

sea surrounds it for a distance of lOOO nailes.

In the forest you do not find any other anims^^ls

than pigs and wild cats, it is true, but, there are

savages who are called Janglis or J^rrawallas.

Iftjjey happen to see any man, they do not

61


hesitate to pierce him right through with their

sharp arrows. And do you see me ? My name is

D. Barry. lam a most obedient servant to the

simple and straightforward, but to the crooked

I am four times as crooked. If you disobey me,

may God help you, at least I will not, that is cer-

tain. Remember also that God does not cdmewithin three miles of Port Blair. The red turbans

you see there^ are warderk. And those in black

xmiform are Petty Ofifiders. You must obey them.

If they happen to molest you, inform me. I will

punish therti.

Then our fetters were broken. A halfpant,

a kurta and and a white cap were pi'ovided for

'each. This was the stage-dress for this Anda-

man Play and as actors we had no other re-

course but to caricature ourselves in that way. But

with my lean and tall and sickly figure—the

most anatomical of the whole lot— donnirig

that clownish accoutrement, I was shown' off

most to advantage. Out of shame I began to

pray, " M'other-Earth, hast thou forgotten that

gesture of thine in the Treta Yuga ? Cleave thy-

self once tnore that I may hide my shame-strick

52

THE BEGINNINGS OP THE CELLULAR LIFE

en face. I am not indeed the daughter of king

Janaka biit my 'modesty is no less imperious

than hers." But the mother did not open her

bosom and we proceeded in that state to take

our bath. And there whatever modesty was still

left to us, we had to renounce absolutely. The

^«goW we were given to put on while bathing

could not in the least defend any modesty.

Thiis, when we had to change our clothes wewere ih as helpless a condition as Draupadi

in the assembly' of the Kauravas. We could

only submit to our' fate. There was no help.

We hung our heads low and somehow finished

the bathing affdir. Then I understood that here

there was no such thing as gentleman, not even

perhaps such a thing as man, here were only

convicts ! Each of us was given an iron plate

and an iron dish, red with rust and smeared with

oil. These cotild not be cleansed at all. With

all our efforts we succeded only in coating them

with a thick paste of the paint and the oil that

clasped each other in an inseparable embrace.

However, we rubbed our hands on the grass

and sat dovvn to eat. The menu was a small

53

THE TALE OF MY KXILB

tin can-ful of rice, a bit of Arahar dal and two

r^tis. That even tasted nectar-like to, us, after

we had lived on chuda and ehhola for four

days a la mode khotta*

When we had finished our meal, we were

taken to Block No. 5 and locked in separate

cells, at the interval of 3 or 4 cells. We were

lodged in the Upper Corridor, the whole of

which had been vacated beforehand, so that

there might not be any communication between

us and the ordinary convicts. Usually the ward-

ers who kept guard were changed everyday.

But ill our case the twelve warders that cameto Number Five to watch over us were confined

there. They were never transferred. Even the

water carrier and the sweeper were not allowed

to step outside. The warders and Petty Officers

were specially chosen for us. They were all,

Pathans, except one only who was a Burmese.

Now, when they shoved us into the rooms and

locked us in, we too laid ourselves flat at our ease

and having nothing else to do began to count

* The low class people of U. P. & Behar, as nick-

named in Bengal.

54


the beams and rafters. Sometimes perhaps a

voice in our inmost being hummed almost in<

audibly in the plaintive words of Radha, "Dearsister, to whom, alas ! shall I tell my tale of

sorrow ?"

There were 26 cells in each corridor of

Number Five. So in all there were 78 cells or

rooms in the three stories. The cells were dis-

tributed as follows in the respective Blocks :

Serial Namber

THE TALE OF MY EXILE i

Murray, came at about 1 or 2 o'clock in theafter-

nooiii iHe stopped for a while in front of each

of our closed cells and took a preliminary survey

of us. He was clean-shaved, shortrstatuced,

blue-eyed and, it appeared to me, infinitely cun-

ning. Sometime in the meanwhile a blacksmith

had come and suspended to our necks what maybe compared to the bell of a bullock. In all the

prisons, here as elsewhere, the convicts imme-

diately on their entrance lose their names and

are given numbers instead., Each has to carry a

wooden piece, 3 inches long, 2 inches broad and

1 inch thick on which his number, the section

undei- which he is convicted, the date of convic-

tion and the term of sentence are written. It

is called the neck-ticket and there are^ three

kinds, the rectangular, the circular and the tri-

angular. Prisoners under section 302 (that is to

say, murder) get the first variety. Dacoits and

political prisoners get the second variety. Andthose who attempt to escape irom Port Blair or

are' caught again after escaping get the third

variety. The ticket is suspended to an iron ring

put round the neck. In the prisons of Madras,

56


the number is carved in tin and attached to the

kufta, near the breast like a decent brooch ; but

in Port Blair one has to mimic the bullocks.

At four in the afternoon we were unlocked

and taken to the yard^ We bathed, we washed

and arranged our respective plates and dishes on

the ground and came back again into our cells,

The band of cooks then appeared and served

rice, dal and rati. We came out after they had

left and sat down to eat. Ordinary prisoners after

finishing their day's work, bathe and sit down in

file and get themselves served. But we had no

such liberty. It was the first Bomb case in the

Andamans and we were the first batch of Anar-

chists there. We were dreaded more than a

pack of wild wolves. So there was so muchstrictness about us, so much flourishing of

lock-and-keys and rules and regulations. But

nobody took account of how much we too on

our side were shaking with fear, how much wetoo were anxious to save our lives. At that time

our position as regards each other—we on the

one hand and the officers of the Jail on the

other—was most funny. They looked upon us

67

THE TALE OE MY EXILE

with fear and apprehension, we too remember-.

ing the motto that trust should not be placed in

royal personages harboured the same feeling

towards them. Again they were very busy to

conceal their feelings in order to keep their pres-

tige. They bluffed and bullied, put on a reck-

less, devil-me-care attitude in the exterior. Like-

wise we too were intent upon upholding the

name of patriot and sought self-gratification

by delivei-ing long speeches to Ihem in season

and out of season. From the Jailor down to the

smallest peon, everybody brandished law before

our nose at every step, showed red and wrathful

eyes, even tried to chase us, but all that was due

to the instinct of sheer self-preservation. For

they argued in their minds, " The fellows are

rogues and ruffians, suppose they bring about

some mischief." We also flared out in one mo-

ment and in the next turned as meek as lambs.

That too was because we had no other way out.

For one did not know, whether if, in this land of

lawlessness, we gave up even hissing ( along with

biting)—as the saying goes—it would be pos-

sible at all to keep body and soul together.

58


The next morning we came out and wash-

ed our faces and then had for the first time > the

darshan of gariji, otherwi$e called kanjii It

means boiled rice churned in water—one maysay, a sort of rice-porridge. We were given each

a dabbu full of this dainty. Dabbu is a kind of

primitive spoon, made of a broken half coconut

shell with a cane-handle fixed to it. Now, the

Ganji was saltless and therefore tasteless. Each

prisoner was allowed only 1 dram of salt per

day and, this being required for the dal and the

vegetable, the Ganji had necessarily to go with-

out salt. However, we had to swallow the thing

with the utmost perseverance, in spite of its

tastelessness. The same thing was called Lapsi

in the Alipur Jail, but there it had some taste,

as it was prepared sometimes with molasses and

sometimes with dal. We had been shut up 7

days in quarantine ; but now came the turn

of real medical examination in the Hospital.

And this was to depide the fate of the prisoners.

Mr. Murray examined each and wrote down on

the Jail History sheet whether he was fit for

hard or light labour, such as, " good physique

59


fit for hard labour," or " Poor physique, fit for

light labour ". Then the Jailor M. Barry was to

go through these remarks and distribute work

to each. Between the examination and the dis-

tribution of work we passed seven days in mak-

ing ropes out of coir.

One batch of prisoners had to soak the

coir in water, pound it and get fibres out of it.

From these fibres ropes were made by another

batch, viz, those who were given light labpur.

Each had to turn out 3 lbs weight of ropes.

We had never done rope-making or coir-

pounding in our life. Even perhaps our an-

cestors to the fourteenth generation had never

heard the names of such things. And yet wedid the thing. On the first day all of us were

given rope-making. A bundle of coir was thrown

in front of each of the closed cells with the

command, " Rassi Batto ", that is to say, pre-

pare ropes like a dear good boy. We openedour bundles, handled them a little and finally

sat down in despair. To make ropes out of that ?

Was it possible ? There were the four warders

there. They came as private tutors to teach us

60


this dreadful work. Now let rtie repeat the les-

son to my readers. First twist the fibres into

wicks by rubbing them upon the ground with

the palm of both the hands. When in this way

there is a huge pile of wicks, put it oh one side.

Then take out two wicks. Hold one end of both

wicks firmly on the ground together with your toe

and then press the other ends between your

palms. Use your firigers skilfully and twist the

two togethier, till they make a small rope. Then

repeat the process by joining other twrt bits

of wiek to the two ends and twist again. And

so on. As the rope becomes longer and longer,

you throw it behind you and hold the last joint

under the toe and join again another wick and

twisl. This is called rope-making. I now tell it

in words and this is not so difficult. But to do

the thing actually is such a Herculean task in

the beginning that only those who have under-

gone the trial know what it is. However, this

was our maiden effort and what wonderful ropes

we made, narrow at one place, thick at another,

and all covered with bristling fibres ! Not to

speak of the honorable Government, we our-

61

THE TALE OK MY liXILK

selves burst out into laughter on beholding our

own achievement.

Later on we found that once the thing is

practised, the fingers move like a machine and

a thin and soft string of rope comes out auto-

matically, as it were, and is heaped behind. It

is not easy to imagine how familiarity makes a

thing as easy and pleasant as unfamiliarity

makes it difficult and irksome. On that day,

some of us could do ropes 5 cubits long, others

did 10 cubits, and yet others again who did even

more than that. Upen alone succeeded in achiev-

ing something like a lady's thick plait of hair,

about 1 cubit and a half or at the most 2 cubits

long. None could beat Upen on that day ! Such

a natural gift in workmanship as his was consi-

dered by all as a rarity ! However, he was a

little mortified when he found that I did as a

matter of fact the longest rope. He said, '' Youmust have worked then secretly at home ",

as if, I, a scion of the House of Ghoses, was nobetter than a dom (rope-maker, sweeper etc. by

caste). The insinuation set fire to all the blood

in my veins I But we were in the Blessed Land

62

THE REIGN OF KHOYEDAD KHAN

of Prison and I could only gnash my teeth andpocket the insult ! ,

CHAPTER V.

THE REIGN OF KHOYEDAD KHANIN NUMBER FIVE.

\ !\ 7'E remained ten of us together in Num-" " ber Five, closely guarded for about

six months. A batch of Madrasee prisoners had

also come with us at the same time when weleft Quarantine after a detention of seven

days. They too, for want of room, were locked

up in Number Five and prepared ropes in our

company. Of them Nagappa and Chinnappa were

our particular friends. Nagappa was a barber

by caste and profession. Chinnappa was the

youngest of the lot. He was quite a harmless

little boy, liked very much by every one of us.

All these Madrasees helped us in rope-making

and made easy for us what was an almost im-

possible task. They were released after six

63


months. Chinnappa then became independent

and self-supporting and took service under the

Hospital Assistant. Nagappa was soon to be

called to the other world.

Soon after this batch of Madrasees were

let off and sent outside in the settlement, an-

other Burmese consignment, convicted under

Sec. 121, came and replaced them in No. 5.

Sec. 121 means treason. The Fungis or the

priests of the Burmese have the habit of setting

up every now and then a false king (Thib*w)

and exciting the mob to attack and ransack

police stations. This was also the crime of the

new batch who were made almost our bed com-

panions. Indeed, it was the first time that we saw

these white-skinned people with an almost fe-

minine appearance, having neither beard nor

moustache, but not without the ulki on the for-

ehead ( which the gentler sex only put on in our

parts). Some of them happened to know Hindi.

However, now we became their masters in rope-

making, and they our disciples. Many of them

had to do coir-pounding also. And in both of

these arts we had the supreme satisfaction of pos-

THE REHJN OF KHOYEDAD KHAN

ing as Gurus to, a band of ignorant neophytes.

Helpless and easily susceptible to gratefulness,

they too became great Bhaktas to us. By this

time we had somehow got ourselves accustome;d

to the mellifluous jawbreaking words of the

Mj^drasees, such , as "Ayia Swami", "Ingeva",

"Rundu Rundu Po " and so on ; but now we had

again to face bravely this novel nasal language

of the Burmese. It took us some time before

we could pick up even a few common phrases

that were absolutely necessary and there westopped.

When we had passed about six months in

this way, Captain Murray left for England on

two years leave. We learnt that he was going

in search of a goddess to fill the emptiness of

his hearth and home. We were very comfor-

table while he was in the An damans. We were

never given any work more difficult than coir-

pounding. We found the rigours of a lonely and

desolate life somewhat softened when he used

to come and talk to us smilingly and pleasantly.

Compared to the blusterings of Mr. Barry, his

was a mere mild rebuke. However whatever

65


suffering we had to undergo was perhaps entirely

due to our destiny. No individual person coiiid

be held responsible for that. All credit shbiild

be given to the Jail Regulations only and per-

haps to a wilful God. '^' "'" '

''

The orders of the Jailor were that the

Bomb Prisoners sHoiild not |3e allowed to talk

to one another. So we were kept separate at' all

times, ih all places and in every possible way.

But it was not a very easy task to keep separate

lO people who lived and moved in such a nar-

row place as Number Five. But there appeared

a Petty Officer who sought to accomplish the

miracle. He was KhoyedacJ Khan, a Pathan, by

race. We ten were all Hindus. There was an

apprehension that Hindu guards might sympa-

thise and fraternise with us. Therefore all the

masters of our fate, the Petty Officers and war-

ders, were chosen from among the Mahomedaris,

cither Hindusthani, Pupjabi or Pathan. A Pa-

than is what we know ordinarily as a kabuli fruit-

seller. But in Port Blair they form the Myrmi-

dons of kin^ Yaraa. Ask them to capture'

a

man, they will bring his head. Lazy and slothful

661


a^d corrupt t|]e,mselves, they are violently over-

zealous in ex|[pcting work from other people.

Amopig tê Path^na, Khoyed^d was the king

of Patha,ns. ,Tfic very sight of,,him made one

ill—dw^rfi^h ^nd . hpir^, wi|h ,thick-set nepk,

dark and bushy ^vhiskersJ, large and irregular

teeth, joined eye-brows, up-tijted nose, temper

always at boiling point and a baton in his hand.

Têse were npj; his only endowments; he was,

above all, a tqrribl^ champion of Law and Or-

der. None CQul^ move about in his dominion

bu;t.ifi cpuples. U by chance while marching in

file you fell a jstep, behind your pther half, the

upraised cudgel flf tl;e lynxrcyed khan was ready

th^re to fall upon you. Youh^d no other alter-

native but, forthwith to acknpwledgeyour guilt

with tht; utmost contrition, " yes sir, pardon, me,

sir," and make haste tp^JiH into line with your

companion. In the other , !ûmbers, you were

shown in pairs only \yhen the Superintendent

or, the Jailor came and at the time of the evening

parade, but in Number Five where Khoyedad

lorded it oyer you, you had to be always in pairs.

Matters did not end with that " Love's phi-

67


losophy " only. You had to act like marionettes

at every step. At the Word of command "khada

hojao" (stand up), you must stand stock-still.

At the next order " kapda utaro " ( take off your

clothes ) you must throw off j^our clothes and

have only a lenguii. Attd again when the order

comes "pant leo" ( take water ) you must take

water in your cups and pour on your heads.

Thkt was the bathing ceremony. The latrine-

going ceremony was also conducted in the same

style. You had to sit in couples in a row facing

the latrine and then, as the ordfer sounded, to

enter it in batches of 8 or 10. In the meanwhile

you had to practise self-control. But perhaps the

most intricate ceremony was the evening parade.

You sat first of all in pairs. Then at the interval

of two pairs of the Bombers there were placed

two or three pairs of Burmese or Madrasee con-

victs. Besides, you must be paired also with

either a Burmese or a Madrasee. But even so

placed, we managed to evade the notice of the

khan and shyly, like a newly married bride, whis-

per to each other.

When it was time for Mr. Barry to start

68

* THE REIGN OF KHOYEDAD KHAN

from his office for Jail-inspection there arose

everywhere a stir and commotion. The con-

victs would sit up, full of anxiety and trepidation,

in their respective places and try to put on the

most innocent and lamb-like look. The warders

and even the Petty Officer stood breathless, ready

to lift up fheir hands in salute. Mr. Barry came

every evening to lock up the wards and had a

round in the Central Tower. As he stood in front

of each ward, it greietfed him with the shout

" sarcar": All the prisoners jumped up and

stood at attention and the warders and the

Petty Officer rendered a right military salute.

It was a perfect Kaisarian affair. Now, if the

whole lot stood up simultaneously, the thing

passed smoothly and all could sit down happily

on receiving the order, " baith jao " (sit down).

But if any or some happened to break the

simultaneity, by standing up a little after the

others, then woe unto the day ! The orders re-

sounded " Sarcar ", " Baith jao " again and yet

again and we had to repeat the exercises till we

almost fainted. I have never heard the roar of

a Titan or a Demon, but however that may be,

69


I am perfectly sure that it , is simply the cooing

of a doye in comparison with Mi;. Barry's ter-

rjljie cry. If anybody doulJts my. assertion,

I would only wish that he had committed a

political decoity and gone to Port Blaiir to hear

the thundering of that mighty heroj w^ile he

was hale and hearty. But now it is top late. It

is difficult to describe the thing. I can only say

in the words of the Rishi that " some he^r, it and

wonder, others hear it and do not comprehend."

It must not be concluded from this, however,

that I say anything in disparagement of Mr.

Barry. Murderers, decoits, ruffians and rogues

from all the quarters of India collect together

in the hundreds of prisons that are spread over

the country. And the pick of that company f^pd

asylum in Port Blair. So a diamopd like Mr.

Bar^y was a,b^solutely necessary to cut such dia-

monds. If, the present prison-^ystpni; is, cpnti-

pue^ arid, if the, prisoners are to be kept; under

9pntrol by threats and severities, then there is

no (Other, way but to have recpurse tp, the, prin-

ciple jpf cpuntej-actipg poison by pqison, Butgs

for us poor people, the antidote as incarnated

70


in Mr. Barry was a little too strong. No doubt

we played at throwing bombs, but was't^at any

reason that we should be given over to living

Death itself ?

However, Mr. Barry was sufferable. But

Khoyedad in addition was too much. Life be-

came simply miserable. In the afternoon our

persons as well as clothes were searched and^ a

bell was rung" three times to indicate the time

of the ceremony. In other wards with the ring-

ing of the bell, the prisoners had to stand up as

soon as the order khara ho jao was given and

lay' Dy their clothes for search. With the order

uthaieo they took up the clothes" ; and they sat

down when ordered baith jao. But the system-

loving Khoyedad improved upon that business

with a thousand intricacies. The first orcler was

khara ho jao, the next was sidha ek line se khara

ho jao (stand up in a straight line ), then kapra

uiaro {remove cloths ), then hanth me rakho

(hold in your hands), then kadam uthao (hold

one leg up ) and finally rakh deo ( place on the

grqund). At the fiist order we stood up. At thfc

second, we approached each other and formed

n


a line. At the third, we took off our kurtas and

caps. At the fourth we held out our hands. At

the fifth we stood on one leg, as if about to dance.

And at the sixth we put the other leg forward

and placeci the clothes on the ground. If the

whole thing was gone through in perfect order

then the khan sahib beamed with delight—his

whole forest of whiskers radiant with the glow

of his row of crooked teeth—and cried out in

joy "Bravo, heroes". We too, on our side, out

of the dire necessity of self-protection, parted

pur lips and grinned smilingly in thankfulness

hoping by that to secure his favour. Thus wc

had to execute ail sorts of orders and then

sit down and wait feagerly for the final bell when

we would go back to our respective stables, free

at last, for the night, from the too loving clutches

of the khan !

One could hardly ever make a rope to the

satisfaction of the Sahib. He would take up the

rope in his hands and say, " Too thick. Aren't

you ashamed of it ?" Or when he examined a coir

he would turn up his nose and remark, "It is

not clean ;go wash and dry." There was no-

72


thing in the world we were not prepared to do

ir^ order to please the Khan Sahib. But even he

found his match in Mr. Barry. When the latter

proceeded towards the jail, our Khan would

begin to murmur the sacred name, " Bismillah."

He was reputed a Mullah and Namaji ( one whoregularly did the prayers) among the prisoners.

We extolled his religious fervour and expressed

our ambition to becomie one day Mussalmans.

We appreciated his noble heart and his mar-

vellous power of ruling men. The Khan, as

he heard us, would go almost into an extatic

trance. I and Abinash were in the convalescent

gang and every one who was put in this list got

12 oz. of milk. But I secretly offered the Khan

from time to time the milk allotted to me. Hewould at first hesitate a moment or two and

then drink it off with evident delight. He would

then caress his beard, smack his lips and say,

" lah Bismillah ! what a wonderful thing Godhas created ! " It is needless to say tliat this

milk was a bribe—an offering to appease the

wrath of this camel-eating Kabuli Durvasa.

Mr. Barry was stern and grim and yet

73


kindly to us. Every morning when he went his

rounds and every evening at the lock-up time,

he came sauntering along with a Burma cheroot

in his mouth and a stick in his arm and had a

few minutes talk one by one with all of us. Heunderstood and we too understood that because

of this favour he showed us, even the Petty

Officers and the warders changed their attitude.

The sahib talked and joked on equal terms with

us, so we must be somebody ! It was owing to

this prestige of ours that we escaped mfach in-

decent insult and abuse and beating. But as for

the common convicts these things were their

natural and inalienable rights. We only looked

from a distance and trembled at the amount of

chastisement that the poor people had to quietly

digest. With the Jailor and the "superdont" we

could talk English continuously " like water

"

and so our little masters were filled with respect

for us, and did not readily lift their weapons to

strike us.

Mr. Barry had a daughter, named Catherine.

His wife was born lame, one of her legs being

shorter than the other. He used to bring them

74

THE REIGN OFKHOYEDAD KHAN

with him now and then and show them over the

Cellular Zoo with all the queer animals like us

that were in it. We then tried to put on the best

appearance and stand smilingly beforfe the ladies

in that clownish apparel of ours. Mr. Barry per-

haps believed in his innocence that he was really

doing us a great favour. We only knew the

shame of it all !

Golam Rasul was at that time the munshi

who had to make a report of the work turned

out by each convict. He was another wonderful

creation of God's—a black, sickly, ugly, long-

toothed and most obedient and faithful dog of

the Sahib. He never did the nasty business of

bathing aad the smell that his body emitted

made it ithpossible for anybody to stand near

him. When he first came into the Jail, the Bara

Sahib ohe day learnt the thing and ordered 4

or 5 sweepers to give him a bath. Once the order

was passed, there was no escape from it. So they

got hold of him and threw him into a cistern.

He was rubbed arid cleaned with Coconut

fibres and such a bath he had that it almost cost

him his life. This affair became a perennial joke

75


with the prisoners whenever they wanted to

tease and play with him. Rasul was incompa-

rable in grimacing and gnashing his teeth. One

day Upen was found fault with, because of his

bad rope-making and the reprimand accom-

panied by necessary ( and perhaps unnecessary)

facial gestures that he got then made him an

eternal enemy of Rasul. This creature caused

numberless people to be punished. There were

many outside the prison in the several stations,

who yet remembered how they had been tor-

tured with handcuffs and fetters at his instance

and who were still lying in wait just to "see" him

when he came out dismissed. But the dearest

favourite of Mr. Barry was cunning enough and

did not come out. He was a warder at first,

then became Petty Officer , and then Tindal

;

and finally as Jamadar he still continued his

overlordship within the Jail itself.

With Khoyedad, Golam Rasul and Mr.

Barry—this holy Trinity over our head we

passed very happily indeed our days ! W|e passed

about a year in this way in Number Five.

In the meanwhile Hemda, Indu and some

76


others had once to take up the sickle and cut

the grass of the yard. My Babu readers mightshudder at the idea of a gentleman cutting grass

;

but as a matter of fact the work of a gardener,

a sweeper or even a scavenger was considered

as a high privilege in this kingdom of topsy

turvydom.We have seen many kayasthas,chhatris

and even Brahmins petitioning for the work'of

a scavenger, out of the dread of oil-grinding. -The

people who were given those works could, at

least, move about freely. Also the work being

light and finished quickly, they enjoyed complete

repose for the rest of the day. So it must be ad-

mitted that Mr. Murray was unusually kind in

putting a sickle in the hands of the Bomb pri-

soners and letting them free in the yard. Over

and above that, his orders were that the grass

was to be cut only when there was no rain or

sun. So most of the time we enjoyed perfect

leisure and squatted at ease on the veranda of

the timber workshop. Only if a passing cloud

came and covered the sun for some time we

would go out to our work. There was to be

absolute rest also during the rains. And in the

77

THE TALE OP MY EXILE

Andamans it was either rainy or sultry for mostof the time the whole year round.

CHAPTER VI*

THE STBIKE

A S soon as we reached the prison of the-^^ Black Waters, those of us who were

Brahmins were deprived of their sacred thread.

There is no rule to this effect in the prisons in

India, but in the Andamans that was the prac-

tice. The prison is like the holy place of Jaggan-

nath. Here all caste distinctions are clean wiped

out. None, however, dares to touch the beard

of the- Mussalman or the hair of the Sikh. But

everybody is only too prompt to take away the

thread of the Brahmin. The reason is, of course,

that the Mussalman and the Sikh are fire-eaters,

while the Brahmin is a meek lamb. However,

we cast off that impotent weapon of Brahmin-

hood and lost ourselves in the general crowd.

* This, the following two chapters and the 11th form

ITpen's story.

78

THE STRIKE

The most strange thing was that not a single

Brahmin raised any objection. Those who are

accustomed to take beating passively are pre-

cisely the persons whom every one feels an

itching to beat. Long after, a Panjabi Brahmin,

by name Rama Raksha, protested in the mat-

ter. He told the jailor that his religion for-

bade him to take food or water unless he had

the sacred thread. So he could neither eat nor

drink if the thread was taken off. He had

travelled over China, Siam, Japan and did not

seem to have any orthodoxy about caste. But

here he fought for a principle. But who would

care to listen to the weak? His thread was

taken away, as a matter of course and he too stop-

ped eating. When he had fasted for four days

without even taking a drop of water, he was forced

to take in milk by means of the stomach pump.

A strike movement was then brewing in the

priaan. Ram Raksha was taken up in it and work-

ed himself up to the pitch of quarrelling with the

authorities. He had been physically in a broken

down condition before he came to the Black

Waters from a Burma prison. Now symptoms

79

THE TALE OV MY EXILE

of Phthisis appeared. He was removed to the

Phthisis ward and soon had the good fortune of

escaping the tortures of prison-Hfe by escaping

those of earthly Hfe altogether.

However, we had not the courage to find re-

lief by death. Not only we did not die, but we re-

solved to live and live upon prison food. It was

not a less creditable thing to do even that. The

Rangoon rice and the thick and tough rotis, one

could somehow suffer; but it would be the

rarest thing to find a single Bhadrolog boy even

in these days of famine who would not shed

tears over the wonderful pjeparation of kachu

and unskinned green plantain and all sorts of

roots and stalks and leaves boiled together with

sand and gravel and excretions of mice. Wehad to pass the four days of our voyage mun-

ching citana and chuda ; and so it was with glee

that we devoured even that dish.

Even before we entered the prison, the jailor

had given us to understand that we were not

permitted to talk to each other or to sit together

and that we must be prepared to take the conse-

quences of any breach of that rule.

80

THE STRIKE

Now about our work and duties. The Anda-mans produce coconuts in abundance and all

that is government property. So the chief

business there is centred round that article. Topound the coir and extract fibres out of it, to

prepare again ropes out of those fibres, to grind

dry coconut and also mustard in the machine

and bring out oil, to make bulbs for hooka from

the shells—these formed the principal items of

work for the prisoners, as has already been said

before. Besides, there was a cane workshop

where small boys only were made to work.

The most difficult work was coir-pounding

and oil-grinding. Barindra and Abinash were

invalids amongst us and so were given rope-

making ; all the rest had to do the coir-pound-

ing. We got up early in the morning, satisfied

the demands of nature and, swallowing the

kanji, tucked up our lenguti and sat down to

business. Each one was given the dry husk of

twenty coconuts. The husk had first to be placed

on a piece of wood and then to be beaten

with a wooden hammer till it became soft.

Then the outer skin had to be removed. Then it

81


was dipped in water and.moistened and then

again one had to pound it. By sheer pounding

all the husk inside dropped off, only the fibres

remaining. These fibres had then to be dried in

the sun and cleaned. Each one was expected, to

prepare daily a roll of "such fibres weighing one

seer. ,,

On the first day, a great deal of time was lost

simply to understand the whole affair. Then

when we'began the thing, we found before long

our hands all bruised and blotched. With all myefforts, the whole amount of work I turned out

in the end was only quarter of a seer. At three

o'clock I went, quaking in all my limbs, like a

victim before the altar, to exhibit my work.

Weil, I got such an exhibition of teeth in

return that I was simply petrified. I had never

the good habit of silently pocketing an insult.

To day 1 felt almost suffocated when I pictured

in my mind that I would have to pass long

years in this enemy-land with only hard labour

and continual abuse as my lot. And what sort

of abuse it was ! I read somewhere in a

novel by our Sarat Chandra that Hindusthani

THE STRIDE

surpasses all otherlanguages by its possession of

quite the richest vocabulary of abuse. I .would en-

treat him to come once to Port Blair and study

Philology there. A veritable well of nectar have

the Hindusthani, the Pathan and the Beluchi ope-

ned there in close conjunction with each other !

Whoever has tasted of it, would find any other

human speech quite insipid. Even the Hadis and

Bagdis of our country, if they cultivate it during

scjven lives, would not be able adequately to mas-

ter that tongue. I could 'never have imagined that

the horrid admitted of such a multiple variety.

However that may be, we expiated our daily

sins in thus pounding the coir, eating the

curry of leaves and twigs, and swallowing

insults. But the smaller gods that ruled our

destiny made life almost unbearable. As the

prisons at home have, officers called Mate and

Black Turban, so the,

prison of the Black

Waters -has its Warder, Petty Officer, Tindfll and

Jamadar. It is the convicts who attain to these

dignities after passing some 6 or 7 years in

prison. In the Andamans it is they who are in

charge of everything and have the authority.

as

THE tALE OP MY EXILE

They are the bodyguards of the supreme lord,

the Jailor. And what perfect adepts they are in

the art of beating and abusing !" Ramlal sits a

little crosswise in the file, give him two blows

on the neck, " "Muslapha did not get up im-

mediately he was told to, so pull off his mous-

tache ", " Bakaulla is late in coming from the

latrine, apply the baton and unloose the skin of

his posterior "—such were the beautiful proceed-

ings by which they maintained discipline in the

prison.*

The 'convicts very often practised a hole in

the throat and hid there bits of coins. The pur-

pose of all these tortures was to extract a share

of that money. As for us we had absolutely

nothing. What were we to do ? Barindra was

weak and sickly and was given from the hospi-

tal 12 oz. of milk every day. In order to escape

trouble he had to offer that milk on the altar of

the stomach of our Petty Officer, Khoyedad

Mian. Khoyedad was a most devout personage,

a perfect servant of God. As Barin has already

said, that wonderful devotee would pour the

milk into his month fringed with its clipped

84

tHE STRIKK

moustache and exclaim smacking his Hps all the

while, " The prophat be praised ! what a marvel-

lous thing God has created !

"

But the most regrettable part of the whole

affair was that there was no remedy for these

oppressions. For who would bear witness

against the guards and court danger ? Besides,

if you could not prove your charge there was

the fear of your being punished in return for

instituting a false case. Life is not possible

where the protectors themselves are the de-

vourers.

We had passed in this way some 6 or 7

months when a batch of political prisoners

arrived from Nasik, Khulna and Allahabad. Wethus numberd 20 or 12 in all.

About this time a veritable comet arose in

the heavens of our destiny in the person of a

new Superintendent. Our fate was sealed. Im-

mediately after his coming he ordered some of

us to be engaged in oil-grinding. The oil ma-

chine to which Ullaskar was yoked was some-

thing like what our oil-men have in our country.

85


And the machines at which Hemchandra, Sud-

hir, Indu and the rest were employed were

worked by the hand. Each had to turn out per

day either 10 lbs. of mustard oil or 30 lbs. of

coconut oil. Even robust and stalwart fellows

get prostrated in turning an oil mill. It

passes words to describe what became of

people like us. Two Pathan Petty Officers were

the supreme authority in that part of the jail

where oil was ground. As soon as we entered

the region, one of them held his fist upon our

nose and explained with vehement emphasis

that our nose would be flattened out with blows,

if we did not work properly. We had to run up

to the third story, each with a 50 lb. sack of co-

conuts on the back and a bucket in the hand and

start immediately the work. It was not work, it

was a regular wrestling. Within 10 minutes, our

breathing became difficult, our tongues got par-

ched. In an hour, all the limbs were almost

paralysed. We cursed the superintendent m our

wrath, but all that was useless. Omce I thought

that I would find relief if I could only weep at

the top of my voice. But I felt ashamed to

86

THE STRIKf

do even thati When we got down at 10 o'clock

to take our meal, we saw that our hands were

all bruised, our brains reeled, the whole world

danced before our eyes. The first object that

attracted my attention was Hemchandfa sitting

quiet in a corner. I asked him, "How do you

find it, brother ? " He stretched out both his

hands and said, " Like unto the lignified deity."

But whether his hands became lignified or

petrified, I have never seen his strength of mind

diminished even by so little. There was none

equal to Hamchandra for bearing pain and suf-

fering with a smiling face, for calmly determin-

ing the future in the very thick of terrible

struggle and difficulty. When some of us were

so much overwhelmed with suffering that they

were up to doing anything, it was he whoinfused into them his calm strength of mind and

kept them back.

It was beyond the capacity of any of us,

excepting 2 or 3, to grind 30 lbs, of oil by him-

self. So very often the other convicts secretly

lent their aid.

We thus passed about a month in turning

87


the oil-mill during the day and lying flat on

our beds dead-tired during the night.

After that period, the first batch was reliev-

ed and the second batch was called to do their

turn. Abinash was extremely weak and was in

danger of getting tuberculosis. So the former

Superintendent had given him remission from

all heavy work. But the new Superintendent

sent him to the oil-mill, without even examining

whether he was capable of it or not. Sriman

Nandagopal, editor of the "Swaraj " of Allaba-

had, was also put to the same work.

Nandagopal was a Panjabi kshatriya, tall

in stature and handsome in appearance. Hecreated a scene when taken to the oil mill. At

the very outset he said point-blank, " It will

not suit me to turn the mill so quickly as all

that". So the machine moved as slowly as pos-

sible. Consequently, not even a third of the

required amount was done before 10 o'clock.

At that hour the ordinary convicts came down,

finished their meal in 5 or 6 minutes and then

ran up again to continue the work. According

to the rules, the time between .10 and 12 was

88

THE STRIKE

meant for dinner and rest, but as a matter of

fact the prisoners dared not take rest, lest their

day's work should remain undone. They wanted

to finish their jobs quickly and then rest with a

traliquil heart. But Nandagopal had no such

fear. The Petty Officer came and ordered himto finish his meal quickly. Nandagopal smiled

a little and began to explain the theories of

hygiene, that eating quickly is of great danger

to the stomach and that since he had to remain

as a guest of the Sarcar for ten years, he could

on no account consent to spoil his health and

thus bring the Sarcar to ill-repute. The matter

was reported to the Jailor, who came andsawNandagopAl slowly manipulating his food and

leisurely chewing and swallowing each morsel,

engaging in the operation each and every one

of his 32 teeth. The Jailor fumed and raged and

gave him to understand that he would be horse-

whipped if the work was not done in due time,

Nandagopal smiled again sweetly and very po-

litely repeated the hygienic lesson. Moreover,

he said, it was the Govt, that had fixed the

hours between 10 and 12 for rest and he would

89


be no party to any breach of that rule. Not only

that, he would take particular care that the Jailor

also did not break that rule. The entire being

of the Jailor welled up in gratitude ! He shot up

in fury, but thought better of it and retreated

with a good grace. Nandagopal took his own time

to finish his meal and retired to his cell. The

nonplussed Petty Officer thought that now the

work would be commenced. But, lo, the incor-

rigible Nandagopal took up a blanket, spread it

on the floor and lay down. Showers of abuse did

not in any way disturb his siesta. As regards

passive resistance, he was even a Guru to Ma-

hatma Gandhi. He got up, however, at 12 and

turned the mill for an hour. When he saw that

the oil in the bucket had came up to 15 lbs,

he tied up all the rest of the coconuts in the

sack and sat down quietly. Only half the

work was done, who would now do the rest ?

Nandagopal said, " Whoever likes let him do it.

I am not a bullock certainly that I should turn

the mill the whole day. The ration I get per

day is not worth even one anna and a half, then

how should 1 grind 30lbs. of oil ?"

90

THE STRIKK

A tremendous hubbub arose among the

authorities. There was a great deal of shout-

ing and threatening. But Nandagopal was as

stolid anS tranquil as the Immutable Brahman.

The Superintendent saw that there was no hope

of getting 30 lbs. of oil out of Nandagopal, so

he sent the culprit to be shut up in the cell "till

further orders".

In the meanwhile Abinash began to break

down with working at a mill that was too big for

him. After 10 he felt himself too much exhaust-

ed to take up the job again. Indu was the

strongest among us. It was he who with the

assent of the other prisoners came to the help

of Abinash and somehow atoned for the sins of

the latter.

Still another month passed. In between

the Jailor came to a compromise with Nanda-

gopal. He said that if Nandagopal did full

work for four days, then he would be entirely

released from the mill. Nandagopal agreed. Hetook the help of others and submitted duly the

required amount of work and got free for that

time.

91


But he could not long enjoy the freedom.

A few days afterwards, he was again put to a

big mill &nd again he refused to work. The con-

sequences were—fetters and confinement. A ge-

neral order was passed that everybody should

grind oil for three days. Thus over and above the

prospect of an indefinite term of imprisonment

was added this daily terror of toiling at the mill.

Everybody understood that unless some sort

of regular arrangement was made as regards our

work, we would have to leave our bodies in Port

Blair itself. Punishment was, of course, always

there in store for us, but why should we punish

ourselves ? So many of us refused this time to

work at the mill. Thus the strike began.

The authorities also were not to be behind-

hand. They also took rigorous measures. The

whole prison assumed an air of merry festi-

vity 1 Punishment was followed by punish-

ment. The first instalment that was doled out

to us was Kanji dish for four days along

with bar fetters and handcuffs for 7 days. This

delicious dish was nothing but powdered grains

of rice boiled in water. It was this that was

92

THE STRIKE

measured out to us twice daily, one lb. each

time. And, of course, special precautions were

taken that nobody should get anything else in

any illicit way. This penal diet, according to jail

regulations, was not to be given for more than

4 days. But whether the authorities were too

kind to us or whatever the reason might be,

Ullaskar, Nandagopal and Hotilal were made to

live on that diet for 12 or 13 days. Nandagopal

complained about the matter to the Hon'ble

Sir Reginald Craddock when the latter visited

Port Blair in 1913. But the jail authorities were

clever people. They inflicted the punishment all

right, but did not note anything to the effect in

the tickets. The Jailor gave out most barefacedly

that the charge was absolutely false. So nothing

came of it. A convict can never establish his

charge against the Jailor.

Punishments continued unabated. Whenall kinds of fetters had been tried one by onje,

we were at last confined to cells. This latter

affair had also in its turn a variefty of forms.

The ordinary convicts, when confined, > could

come downstairs and have their bath and meal.

93


There was also no restriction to their talking to

each other. But with regard to ourselves, the or-

ders were that we should not talk to each other

and that any body found speaking to us would be

punished. So although it was separate confine-

ment in name, it was in reality solitary confine-

ment. Many of us had to pass three months or

more in this state.

This began to tell upon the health of many.

Port 'Blair was a breeding ground of malaria.

The epidemic of fever was a constant factor

and now over and above that began dysentery.

The authorities thought perhaps it was too muchand so decided upon some changes. So a few

of us were selected and sent out to the Settle-

ment, on the occasion of the coronation cere-

mony. Barindra went to the Engineering file,

that is to say to work as a labourer under a

mason, Ullaskar went to dig up earth and make

bricks. Some went to the Forest Department

to hew wood, others to draw Rickshaws and

others again to work at the embankment.' B,ut as fate would have it, this arrangement

, turned out for us to be from the frying pan into

H

THE STRIKE

the fire. When we were inside the prison, how-ever difficult the work might have been, wecould get fixed and full rations from the Govt,

and we had not to fear the rain and the storm.

But once outside, we were deprived of even that

comfort. We had, of course to labour hard from

6 to 10 in the morning and from 1 to 4-30 in

the afternoon ; in addition we got roasted in

the sun and soaked in the rain. And in Port

Blair, besides the fact that the rains lasted seven

months in a year, there was the pest of leeches

in the forest. That was why many people had

tried to run away out of fear of having to work in

the forest.

To crown all these sufferings, one did not

get the full ration. A good part was stolen and

sold in villages. Everybody, from the European

officers down to the ordinary convicts, knew of

this stealing and yet it could never be prevent-

ed. Most of the officials -took bribes themselves

and so there was no remedy. An ordinary

convict would not complain easily in the matter,

for he knew perfectly well that it would spell

danger for him if he untied his tongue.

95


^here were four hospitals outside the pri-

son ior the convicts. But they were all under

the supervision of a Bengali Assistant Surgeon.

So the Chief Commissioner, Colonel Browning,

passed orders to the effect that if we fell ill we

should not be allowed in^those hospitals but

should come back into the prison. It was not

certainly pleasant to walk a distance of 5, 7 or

10 miles, shivering all the while with fever and

carrying beds and utensils on the shoulder. And

moreover, could one expect good treatment even

inside the prison ? We had to lie down some

21 hours of the day in small rooms attached to

the prison hospital. The latrine arrangement,

which consisted of a simple pot, was also in the

room itself. There were shutters on the rear

wall, which served as a good passage for rains

to come in, but which did not help proper

ventilation in any way. The jail commission

that came in Jan. 1920 to inspect Port Blair

spoke very strongly against the arrangement.

There will be soon, it appears, some efifort at

amelioration.

However, we had thought so long that once

THE STRIKE

outside the prison our situation would improve

a little. But that illusion now vanished entirely.

We were, as the Bengali saying goes, between

a tiger on land and a crocodile in water. Ordi-

nary convicts are released from hard labour,

when they become in time warders and Petty

Officers and, if they know reading and. writing,

Munshis. But for us there was no prospect in

that way.

So one by one we all of us refused to work

outside and came back to the prison.

About this time a very tragic event hap-

pened. Indubhushan committed suicide by hang-

ing. He was of a strong and robust constitu-

tion and was never frightened by physical la-

bour. But the petty insults of Jail life exhausted

his patience day by day. He said now and then,

" It is impossible for me to pass ten years of

my life in this hell". One night he tore his

shirt, made a rope out of it and hung himself

from the skylight. The Superintendent was

telephoned that very night, but he did not turn up

till 8 o'clock next morning. Many of the guards

who accompanied the Jailor to Indu's room on

97

m


that night gave out that there was a piece of

writing tied to his neck-ticket. The truth of

the matter cannot be known ; the writing was

never found. We asked the Jailor about it later

on, but he denied the existence of any such

thing. Jndu's elder brother petitioned the Go-

vernment for an enquiry. The task was en-

trusted to the Deputy Commissioner of Port

Blair. But nothing came of it. The whole affair

somehow ended in oblivion.

As I said, severity of work outside made

all come back one by one to the prison. Ullaskar

also did the same. He was given brick laying

to do in the sun. The Junior Medical Officer

of the hospital recommended that Ullaskar was

not fit to bear the heat of the sun. But why

should the white Overseer take into considera-

tion the advice of a mere Bengali Officer ? So

Ullaskar had to do the same work as before.

Naturally he refused it and returned to the pri-

son saying that it was belittling to one's manhood

to work simply out of the fear of punishment, at

least he was not the man to do such a thing. So

it was ordered that he should be given handcuffs

98

TttE STRIkK

and barfetlers for seven days. But those seven

days did not pass. On the very first day the Petty

Officer on going to take off the handcuffs at

4.30, saw that Ullaskar was senseless with

fever and was hanging by the handcuffs. He was

immediately sent to the Hospital, The tempera

ture rose to IDS'" in the night. On the next

morning it was found that the fever had enti-

rely gone down but Ullaskar was no moreUllaskar. The man who was ever at peace even

in the midst of the utmost danger, who never

ceased smiling even when he suffered most,

was to day insane 1

On that day the real nature of a prison re-

vealed itself to us. There was no hope for any

one to keep body and soul together and return

to his country. Some would die by hanging,

others would die by going mad. So we asked

ourselves, why should we tamely accept suffer-

ing, if death was the only end ? Almost all of

us then determined not to do any work until

some special arrangement was made for us.

Thus on our side we sent (he ultimaitum and

waited with a desperate resolution for the com*

99

THE TALE OK MV EXtLE

bat. The authorities also on their side began to

bring out the sharpest weapons they had in

their armoury and hurl them upon us.

It was a struggle between the elephant and

the tiger. A little before this Nanigopal of

Chinsura, Pulindas of Dacca and some 3 or 4

others had arrrived. Nanigopal was a young

boy and yet he was given oil-grinding. He too

was forced to join the strike. The authorities

locked us up in one block separated from the

other prisoners and placed choice Pathan war-

ders over us. The ration also was curtailed.

And no precaution was overlooked to prevent

us from communicating with each other. Wemight talk in the latrine, so a guard waited us

even there. But the chain snaps if it is madetoo tight. It is a vain task to terrorise people

into obeying the law, if they have no respect

for the law.

We demanded three things chiefly—(1)

proper food, (2) release from labour and (3)

freedom to associate with each other.

But we were locked up in different cells,

each separated from the other by 4 or 5 cells in

100

tHE STRIDE

between. The outcome was that while formerly

we talked low, now we began to shout at the

top of our voice. You cannot shut the mouthof a person even if you hang him up by the

handcuffs. The authorities caught in us a verti-

able Tartar. They could not yield to our de-

mands for fear of losing their prestige and yet

otherwise the strike would not end. At this criti-

cal moment the new Superintendent was trans-

ferred and in his place came our old Superin-

tendent. The latter advised the Chief Com-missioner to give some of us only light work

and send us outside the Jail. Our reply was that

we were ready to do work on condition that

all of us were sent outside, otherwise we would

all come back.

Some 10 or 12 were sent outside with the

task of watching the coconut trees. The trees

were Govt, property and the guard's duty was

to see that the fruits were not stolen. The task

was easy. But each of us was posted in an

isolated place, so that there could not be any

meeting or convei;pation.

The strike, however, continued inside the

101


Jail. Some time after Nandalal and Nanigopal

were transferred to a smaller Jail in the Viper

Isle. There Nanigopal started hunger-strike.

So the arrangement that everyone should be

sent outside was not carried out in practice.

In the mean while those who were outside

struck work en bloc. It took about a month to

arrange the strike, as the whereabouts of each

and every one had to be investigated and com-munication established between all.

So when they came back to the prison,

each sentenced to three months, they found

that the strike within the Jail had almost broken

down. Many had joined work out of despair.

Nanigopnl was brought back to the prison alter

he had gone on hunger-strike for 4 days. Hewas forced to take milk by means of a rubber

pipe thrust into his nose. Perhaps the authori-

ties were afraid that if he died he might after

death speak ill of them 1 On this occasion it

was Nanigopal, Biren and a few others boys

who took upon , themselves all the sufferings

incidental to the strike. Punishment was heaped

upon punishment. There was nothing to hope

m

THE STRIKK

for. So one by one everybody broke away fromthe strike. Only Nanigopal stuck . to it, as if he

had staked his Hfe on it.

Days passed on. Nanigopal became lean

and emaciated like a skeleton. And yet he would

not give up his resolve. When he was ex-

hausted and helpless through fasting for more

than a month and a half, even then the autho-

rities did not hesitate to hang him up by the

handcuffs. The result was that the hunger-strike

spread again like wild fire. And however the

authorities might try to prevent it, the news about

Indubhushan, Ullaskar and Nanigopal reached

the country. The press started a vigorous agita-

tion. So tlie Government was compelled to send

Dr. Lukis to make an enquiry. But the report

of this doctor has not yet been published,

although, as a consequence, Ullaskar was sent

over to the lunatic asylum in Madras and the

others also heaved a sigh of relief for some

time at least.

Nanigopal was also after considerable diffi-

culty persuaded by his friends to take food. Alittle after this, those who had come from out-

103


side with three month's imprisonment were also

sent out again as their term expired.

Thus ended the first period of the Strike.

CHAPTER VII.

THE OUTCOME OF THE STRIKE.

TT'VEN death is not a release to the man to

-*--^ whom the fates are hostile. We whoremained outside passed our days somehowindifferently. But news reached us shortly that

there was disturbance again inside the prison.

Continued oppression had forced Nanigopal to

strike once more. As punishment he was given

gunny-cloth to put on, but he refused it. So his

shorts were forcibly taken away ; he was given

gunny shorts and confined in his cell. He how-

ever threw away the gunny shorts and sat down

quite naked, repeating the mantram, "Naked

we come out of our mother's womb and naked

shall we return." He broke his neck-ticket,

would not stand up when the Chief Commis-

104

THE OUTCOME OF THE STRIKE

sioner came on visit, nor salaam him. If asked

what he wanted he replied that he did not want

anything—and so on.,i,

Our apprehensions were that the poor boy

had gone mad. On enquiry, however, we found

that he was perfectly sane and sober. Only he

was busy solving the problem why he should

be in duty bound to obey laws that the British

people had made according to their sweet fancy

and with which his own people had nothing to

do. His ^conscience dictated that he shp,uld i^of.

Then why should he do it, simply to save his

life ? What was the value of that life which

made life miserable in the very effort to save it ?

In answer to his problem we could find

nothing better than this only consolation and

one hope that even the fiercest master cannot

hold in subjection the body of the man whose

mind has the seal of freedom imprinted: upon

it by the hand of God.

But our turn was also coming. About tl^is

time the Calcutta Press was carrying on a rather

hot discussion about the condition of the poli-

tical prisoners in the Andamans. The authorities

105

THE TALE OP MY EXILE

thought that it was we who supplied all the

information. Of course, it was not possible for

us always and in everything to obey the rules

and regulations. We had to go here and there

for the sake of the stomach in search of fruits

or vegetables or some one thing or another. Wewere also compelled to make secret rendezvous

with o^ur friends and comrades, as it was almost

impossible for us to associate with ordinary con-

victs. The authorities did not understand these

things or perhaps pretended not to understand

and endeavoured to put us into difficulties.

One fine morning a regular campaign of

searches was launched upon all on a sudden.

All the places where we eat, sat or slept were

surrounded by the Police. It amounted, how-

ever, to a comic rehearsal of the Maniktola

Garden affair, a tempest in a tea pot. Nothing

could be secured except a few innocent

letters and some poems. But the Chief Com-missioner ordered us all to be removed to the

prison. Various rumours gradually gained

ground to the effect that we had, it seemed,

planned to prepare bombs, blow up Port Blair,

106


capture a Govt. Steamer and escape ; also

that the omniscient Chief Commissioner on the

advice of a loyal prisoner named Lalmohan

Saha had recourse to all these preventive

steps in order to save his kingdom from immi-

nent catastrophe. When he came to visit the

Jail, we asked him, " Wh;»t is the matter, Sir ?

Why this unwarranted attack upon poor people

like us ?". He replied with the most innocent

air, "I do not know anything about it. I acted

only according to instructions from the India

Government."

Well and good, there was no answer to

that. But we learnt a few days after that many

people ontsjde had been punished because they

talked with us and that a Police witness had

secured from somewhere a few gramophone

pins, some bits of iron and things like that and

so had proved beyond any doubt our evil inten-

tion of preparing bombs 1 Since the time when

some innocent people were punished in con-

nexion with the train-wrecking affair at Nara-

yangarh we knew perfectly well all the capa-

cities of the Police. So we asked the authorities

107


why instead of hitting behind the back they did

not try us in open court, if they had proof or

reasonable cause for suspicion against us. But

to that they turned a deaf ear and did not deign

any answer. We could only bite our lips and keep

quiet.

A few months after, Sir Reginald Craddock

came to visit Post Blair. We thought here was

our most well-wishing patron. This time some-

thing would certainly be done for us. But no

sooner had we begun to narrate our woes to

him than he revealed himself in his true colours

and told us point-blank, "You were hatching

conspiracy while outsidfe".

' We replied, " If such is your impression

then why did you put on an innocent air and

say that you did not know anything when we

first put the question to you ? And supposing

that you had siibsequently proofs Of out: guilt,

then why do you fight shy of instituting an

open trial for us ?". Sir Regiriald answered with

a twinkle in his eye, "You know, such things

can never be proved". '

Nanigopal also narrated his whole histofy.

108


But the Hon'ble Sir Craddock said in reply,

" You are an enemy of the Govt, you ought to

have been shot down": Narii retofted; "If'that

is so, then why waste money to dress up such

useless parapharnalia as laws and courts ? you

could have immensely shortened the process."

This was the justice that we had. Nowwhat were we to do ? Unless the Supreme Help-

er came down and helped us, there was nothing

to be done. This time His patience too was

perhaps exhausted.

We agiin gave up work one by one. Whenthe prison authorities were tired of dealing

out punishments, they sent for trial in the court

those of us who were not transported for Hfe.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Lewis, Was en-

trusted with that task. He came a few days be-

fore the trial to have a conversation with us and

to enquire about the cause of the strike.

When he heard of the sort of treatment meted

out to us, he said that the India Government

did not want that we should be treated any

better than the ordinary convicts; no body , in

Post Blair had any hand in the matter. But we

Jj09


pointed out that we were not allowed even the

privileges of the ordinary convicts. These latter,

if they knew reading and writing, got decent

work in the office ; and even if they were

illiterate, they could.become warders and Petty

Officers* We were deprived of all these privi-

leges. The others got a monthly pay of 12 As.

after the term of 5 years and earned their

own living after 10 years. But ours was the fate

of eternally rotting within the prison. Mr. Lewis

answered that the India Govt, only was respon-

sible for all these arrangements. One of us put

the query " Sir, you have no right to do good,

have you then only preserved the right to do

evil?".

The Sahib laughed and said, "What are we

to do ? Peace and discipline must be observed

in the prison".

" Justly or unjustly disciphne must any howbe observed, this is the upshot of the whole

matter, is not it ?"

The Sahib did not proffer any answer to

that. He knew the entire business perfectly well.

But he too was after all a Govt, servant, So he

110


enhanced our terms of punishment, by onemonth or two or six, according to the cases andwent his way. Later on I had occasion

; to

meet him and as the conversation turned uponUllaskar he said, " Ullaskar is one of the noblest

boys I have ever seen, but he is too idealistic."

And yet he had to punish Ullaskar for the sake

of his service.

The purpose of punishment was to keep

peace, but. that peace it was soon found very

difficult to keep. Inspired by our example strike

parties began to increase among the ordinary

convicts. Consequently the work of the Jail

suffered. The authorities were now cornered andhad to do something or other.

All on a sudden some 7 or 8 of those poli-

tical prisoners who were term convicts were sent

back to prisons in India. Even the Jailor whonever hesitated to abuse and insult us approach-

ed us one day and very politely asked us to give

up the'strike, saying, "Now you can retreat with

honour". He gave us to understand that most

of the term convicts would be repatriated and

that those who remained in Port Blair would

111


get special privileges as regards their work

and food. We replied, "Amen, but if with-

in two months we do not see any inlimation

of those special arrangements then we go our

way and make our own special arrangements".

Thus the treaty was signed between the two

parties and thus ended the second chapter 6f

the Strike.

In a few days everybody was sent back to

India excepting Barindra, Hera' Chandra and

Ullaskar of Alipore fame, Pulin Behari and

Suresh Chandra of Dacca and the Savarkar

brothers and Joshi of Na-sik. The intimation of

special arrangements also reached us. They were

as follows :

—

1) We would have to remain in the prison

for 14 years including the remissions. After

that we would be released from labour and

would enjoy the privileges of a prisoner under-

going simple imprisonment. As for letting us

outside the prison, the thing would be consider-

ed after 14 years.

2) During the period of our stay within

the prison we would get all the privileges that

112

THE OUTCOME OP THE STRIKE

an ordinary prisoner got outside the prison.

That is to say, .after thq expiry of 5 years we

would be able to put on Dhotis instead of shorts,

we would get a monthly alloiwance of 12 As. in

cash and we would get the right of cooking our

own food,I / /

3) Every year a report would be sen^difiie

India Qoypmment as regards our behaviour.

After 10 ypars the Govt, \youli1 consider whether

better arrangements could be done for us or

not.

4) From now we would enjoy in every

way all the rights and privileges of an. ordinary

convict. AlsiO we would not get any exemp-

tion from whipping, on the plea of our being

political prisoners.

However, this something; was better, than

nothing. We did not forget that our masters

could have even refused it altogether.

113


CHAPTER VIII.

STRIKE AGAIN.

'\)\7*E fglt somewhat at ease when the term

^ ^ convicts were sent back to India. The

6 or 7 that were left behind' had now to

settle down permanently in Port Blair. Whatwas the use then of creating further trouble ?

As there was no hope of release, it was better to

await death and pass days peacefully. So we

thought.

But peace there could not be to our lot.

The Great War broke out in 1914. Its reper-

cussions affected even India and gave birth to

the Lahore Conspiracy. As a consequence some

50 men of the Gadr Party had to seek the King's

hospitality in Port Blair. Many Sikh soldiers of

the Indian Army were also sentenced for poli-

tical crimes. And some 15 or 20 fresh prisoners

from Bengal arrived. Thus Port Blair became

quite a lively hell, with such a crowd of

political prisoners. However none of them, save

lU

STRIKE AGAIN

4 or 5, were givenioil-griiiding. Not that, for

that matter, coir-pounding was for them an easy

job, but the real trouble was that the Govt,

ration was quite insufficient for them. First of

all, they were Punjabis, huge and tall and ro-

bust ; and secondly, they : had for a long time

been in America and were accustomed to a good

quantity of meat. So two rotis and one pot of rice

hardly served to fill even an insignificant corner

of their stomach. And, especially, they were not

the people to keep quiet under provocation and

insult. Naturally, in a few days relations became

strained between them and the authorities.

The quarrel began with Paramananda of

Jhansi. On some charge or other, he was taken

before the Jailor. The Jailor to show his autho-

rity expressed himself as vehemently as he could.

Paramananda too retorted back in exactly the

same pitch. From words they came to blows.

Paramananda was punished with 20 stripes.

And the strike began. But it did not last long.

The Jailor himself came and cajoled everybody

into hoping for better treatment in the future

and managed cleverly to break up the Strike.

115


The seed of discontent, however, did not

die. The'trouble started afresh a few days after

over a very small affair. Usually Sunday is a holir

day for the convicts. On that day they arc relieved

from all duty excepting cleaning their own

clothes. But in Port Blair they have to mow the

grass in the Jail yard. Now on a holiday they

remain shut up in their cells during the whole

middle part of the day, and if they are also en-

gaged in mowing the grass in the morning, then

the holiday becomes absolutely meaningless to

them. So Jagatram who had been the Editor of

the Gadr in America and some others ' refused

to do the work as a protest. The Superintendent

tried them and punished each with 6 month's

fetters and solitary cell. No body was, pleased

to see such a heavy expiation demanded

for a comparatively light crime. Then as days

passed, when it was seen that there was no pos-

sibility of any amelioration in their condition,

many began to give up work. A great to-do was

created about this time over another incident.

A quarrel broke out between an old Sikh and

some of the guards. The former complained

lis

STRIKE AGAIN

that he was taken by them into a rOom and was

severely beaten. That might be true or not,

btit, as a matter of fact, within two or three days

of the complaint, he was attacked with severe

dysentery and had to take shelter in the hospital.

Here he develop6d' phthisis and died very short-

ly. Most of the people believed that violence

was the cause of his death, but the authorities

of course, denied, the allegation. As no steps

were taken about this incident, some 4 or 5 gave

up eating in protest. PritHwi Singh was their

leader. He was forced to take in milk through

his nose. He stood this for 5 months. If it were

some other country there would have, been a

tremendous hue and cry over the matter. Btit

who knew anything about Port Blair ? Whomdid it concern in any way if a couple or even a

dozen of prisoners' died there'

?

"''•'

Three or four more Sikhs contracted

phthisis and died after two or three month's

suffering. I have spoken already of Pandit' Ram-

raksha. He gave up eating becaus'e his sacred

thread was taken away when he entered the pri-

son. He too died of phthisis. Another committed

117


suicide by swallowing a bit of lead, as he found

no other way of escape.

Those who died escaped, of course, all

trouble. But how miserable they were who went

mad and had still to live ! Of these latter was

Jatish Chandra Pal of the Baleswar Case. Hebecame quite insane while he was locked up in

separate confinement. He was sent to the luna-

tic asylum. Later on he was removed to India.

Now he; is passing his days in the Berhampore

lunatic asylum.

There was no end to events of this kind. Of

whom shall I writeandof whom shall I not? There

was a Sikh, Chhatra Smgh by name, who had

been a teacher in the Khalsa School at Layalpur.

I do notknow what crime he committed in IndiH.

But in Port Blair he was locked up in a cell

from the very beginning. It is said that he

attempted to attack the Superintendent some

time when the strike trouble was going on. So

the warders thrashed him till he fell senseless.

And from that time he was shut in a cell and was

not taken out till after two years. A cage was

made for him by enclosing one corner of a

U8

STRIKE AGAIN

veranda with wire-netting. There he had to eat,

there to answer the call of nature and there also

to sleep. Needless to say, the consequence

was that his health broke down and he was

almost a dying man. Another Sikh, Amar Singh,

had almost the same fate.

Now, when the number of deaths began to

increase continually, the authorities seemed to

wake up to the gravity of the situation. Jagat-

ram was suffering from brain complaints due

to a long term of separate confinement. He and

two others were given work in the Press, Bhai

Paramanand, a former Professor of the Daya-

nand College, had never joined any strike smd

was made a compounder in the hospital. But

the Professor could not long enjoy his happi-

ness. His wife published in the papers extracts

from a letter of his giving out the conjiition of

the political prisoners. The Chief Commissioner

did not feel at all grateful for this and so con-

fined him, without any trial, in the lock-up,

Paramananda pleaded that that letter had duly

passed through the hands of the Superintendent.

There was no reason to disbelieve him, but all

119


the same, he did not escape persecution. So

now that he found persecution to be the inevi-

table companion of life, he determined to give

up life by not eating. Fortunately he was re-

leased shortly after by the King's Proclamation.

But as for those who are still rotting in the

prison, who knows when their misery will end?

CHAPTER IX.

CAUSES OF DEGENP]BATION AMONG CONVICTS.

T^rObody in the country knows anything about^ ^ the convicts, We, have no idea of the

fact that owing to our persistent neglect some

lacs of people—fallen miserables of our ownsociety-r-are made to live, in expiation of their

sins, in a veritable hell upon this very earth. It

is indeed our fortune that rare and great souls

come now and then in our midst and do the

thinking on our behalf even about the ignorance

and misery and sorrow of our mothers and

sisters at home. We do not care to think if we

120

CAUSES OF DEGENERATION

can help it and even we curse those who do

think. Sq it goes without saying that in the

matter of the sinners and criminals of our society

we would simply laugh at the idea of paying

any heed to them. But the times are now such

that we must needs think of these things. Dowe not see that our sins in the way of neglect-

ing and despising and oppressing our kith and

kin have accumulated to a perilous extent and

that it is this which has paralysed, all the life-

movement of our motherland ? The nation must

be cured of this disease now or never.

On an average some 1,200. men are trans-

ported every year to the Andamans. Amongthem there are lads of l6 or 17 and old men of

over 50 as well, who, by the grace of the medi-

cal authorities, are considered quite fit for

exile. Our benign gov^rnipent can never be

accused of any defect in method and procedure.

No convict is sent to the Andamans unless he is

passed by the Civil Surgeon himself. But that

is hardly of any use to the poor creatures con-

cerned. For if the doctor happens to be callous

and hard-hearted, he tries to get rid of the affair

121


as summarily as possible. It is only one of many

things he has to look to. Perhaps he has to do

the task of examining some two hundred con-

victs when he is already fatigued and exhaust-

ed with' his other duties. So he comes up in

hot haste, stands in front of each convict for a

minute or two, hiis a look at the tongue or feels

the body here and there and finishes by writing

down whatever comes uppermost to him.

During' the last ten years I have seen some

200 or 250 consignments of prisoners coming

to the Andamans. At the time of their arrival,

they are quite raw aud inexperienced. Most of

them perhaps have committed a crime under

grave provocation. In each consignment some

15 p. c. are sure to be found who are quite in-

nocent. They have been thrown into this great

calamity by the machinations of either the Police

or the Zemindar or their village enemies. Some10 p. c. are habitual criminals, and it is by the

contact of these that the casual criminals or first

offenders who form the majority begin to corrupt

and degenerate. Then when they are distributed

and scattered in different blocks, they gather

122


everyday dirt and impurities into whateyer there

is pure in them. The human, the divine in themis gradually uprooted and gives place, to the

tares of sheer animality. The cause of this de-

generation is the band of jailbirds in the Cellular,.

As in every other prison in India, in the

Cellular also there are three categories of pri-

soners—men of vicious character, men of good

character and, in between, men of a weak and

harmless character. For those who are naturally

graced with finer and loftier implses there is no

need at all of the regulations and impositions

and oppressions of the prison. The inherent

beauty of their souls spontaneously unfolds itself

as a flower discloses petal after petal. The fiery

ordeal of all the sufferings and sorrows of a

prison-life serves only to purify and enhance

the golden glory within, never to tarnish it. Onthe other hand, those who from birth and nature

gravitate towards things foul, evil and gross,

turn absolutely desperate under the goading of

persecution and the pressure of the thousand

bonds of prison-life. Hand-cuffs, fetters, soli-

tary confinement—nothing in the world has any

123


terror for them. They consider it heroism to

take a whipping. It is simply astoimding to see

their strength of mind and fearlesness when

they suffer punishment for having taken part in

the most shameful arid heinous crimes. These

people remain imprisoned for a year or two in

the Cellular and are then let off outside in the

settlement. But they come back again. And for

that purpose they either thrash somebody or

steal or gamble or escape and absent themselves

for a few days and then ofifer themselves up for

punishment. Even oil-grinding in the Cellular

is an easier task than any work Outside, whether

in the Forest Department or in the rubber and

tea gardens ©r in the brick-ldln. In the Cellular

you have not to suffer from the sun or the rain.

Also you can have a full meal here, as a prisoner's

ration is not stolen. I have seen veteran thieves

coming back into the prison for the tenth or the

twelvth time. There is none in Port Blair whois not acquainted with the exploits of such

notorious jail-birds as Sera, Murga, Sayad, Ma-

havira, Palwan, Gore, Charley and others.

But it is the ca^iual offenders, we^k-minded

124


and harmless creatures, who form the bulk, that

IS to say, 80 to 90 p. c. of the prisoner population.

They come as simple souls, quite unaccustomed

to sin or crime, driven by the force of unfortu-

nate circumstances or by their evil destiny. But

they return cunning, cruel, avaricious and vicious

after all the harsh experiences, the ceaseless

punishments and sufferings and want, the conti-

nuous contact with what is vile andi sordid,

that they have to undergo here. The causes that

lead to the ruin of a tolerably good soul in the

prison may be thus summarised :

(1) The company of veteran and hardened

criminals and the spectacle of their vicious and

corrupt practices.

(2) Incapacity to do hard labour. Whenit becomes physically impossible to grind out

30 lbs of oil, one is forced to seek the aid of

the more robust ruffians in order to avoid

punishment and that means to sell, in return,

one's body for the most abject ends.

(3) The punitive regulations based upon

the lowest kind of brute force. In the beginning

one has the feeling of utmost shame and fear to

125


be put in handcuffs and fetters or to be stripped

naked and whipped. But once this shame and fear

are renmoved the man becomes desperate ; blind-

ed with fury and hatred he rushes headlong on

the path of evil and corruption. Impotent rage

leading to suicide is a very common occurrence

in prison.

(4) The demands of want. There is noth-

ing in the world to which one accustomed to

smoking does not gradually stoop in order just

to get a bit of tobacco. I have seen with myown eyes people, who had no sweets or meat to

eat tor several years, fall into the most shocking

habits for the sake of only a handful of sugar.

(5) Forced celibacy. Rules and regula-

tions cannot repress the natural hungers of the

body. In any jail, whether in Port Blair or in

India, one has simply to become a prisoner in

order to see in how many revolting ways mancan pollute his life for the sake of the satisfac-

tion of the appetites, severed as he is from the

society of his wife and children and yearning

for love and affection and company. The want

of home influence, the shutting of all ways of

126


natural satisfaction turns a man gradually into

a sheer brute.

(6) The want of religious life and en-

lightenment. There are a thousand ways in the

prison leading to viqe, but not the least arrange-

ment to instil knowledge, to evoke the higher

susceptibilities. When the prisoner was a free

man in his country he had around him temples

and vigrakas (idols of gods) his Gurti and his Pu-

rohit, religious ceremonies and festivities and

countless other things that helped to mould andform his character. But the prison shuts out all

these wholesome influences and opens to the

unfortunate prisoner the gate of—heaven or

hell ?

(7) Absence of all incentive to healthy

habits. In Indian prisons the prisoners get someprivileges if they are neat and clean, behave

well, show a good character or do more than

the assigned work. All these are taken into ac-

count and a remission of 10 or 12 days per

month is allowed on the total term. This serves as

a strong temptation to reform and correct oneself.

But there is no such arrangement for remission in

127


Port Blair. Here whatever the prisoners get as

such are only on exceptional occasions, perhaps

once or twice in 10 years, at the time of some

Jubilee or Royal Ceremony.

(8) There is no limit to the term of pu-

nishment. Transportation for life in Port Blair

means literally life-long transportation, that is to

say, till death. The Chief Commissioner, how-

ever, has a special prerogative by which he can

recommend to the India Government the re-

lease of a political or decoity prisoner after the

term of 25 years, certifying that the person has

during the period led an ideal life and can be

remitted the rest of the term. But as a matter of

fact some 10 p. c. of these recommendations are

returned with the reply that the Honourable

Government would keep the particular person

under observation for five years more, ki somecases a categorical refusal is given and the pri-

soner is let off within Port Blair itself as an ex-

convict. Of the remaining 90 p. c. those only

find themselves released in the end who withstand

the suicidal atmosphere of Port Blair and endure

through this life of suffering and sorrow, of vice

128


andfjoUution. How many can cling to life hop-

ing for this far off will o' the wisp of a release

at the end of 20 or 25 years ? Besides, there are

many prisoners \who have more than one life-

sentence upon them, that is to say, the total

term amounting to 40 or 60 years. I have seen

some sentenced to 75 and even 100 years ! Whocan expect a limit to the doing and daring of these

unfortunate people who have no gleam of hope

to brighten a never-ending and cheerless pros-

pect ? The murders and deaths, the attempts to

escape, and above all the moral degradation that

takes place in Port Blair are all due to despair

and disappointment.

(9) If, over and above these causes, the

Jail Officers are cruel and heartless, then all the

conditions stand fulfilled for the jail to becomean ideal hell. Of course, one may not expect

much of love and affection from the higher

authorities, but the pity is that even inattention

or laziness on their part is sufficient to do all

the evil. The Petty Officers and Tindals and

Jamadars take avantage of the weakness of their

superiors and make the life of the poor prisoner

129


miserable and unbearable.

(10) And Port Blair is the home of

all diseases. Malaria, diarrhoea, dysentery, phthi-

sis, pneumonia, typhoid rage here freely. People

have to bear the burden of a mournful life and

toil ceaselessly in sun and rain. They are tired

and exhausted in mind and body. They either

await death with a grim determination or they

revolt altogether. It is impossible here to save

a man who is resolved to die. All the external

conditions are favourable to that end. A mankeeps his soul here with the utmost difficulty

and is required almost to sacrifice life in order

to save it. It is a tug of war without break

or stop between man on one side and death on

the other,

(11) Finall)', once, this putrid atmosphere

of sin and vice and misery pollutes a man's

character, very soon he falls a prey to sordid

diseases and becomes completely broken down.

Words fail to give any idea of the extent which

these diseases have reached in Port Blair and

the shocking forms which they have taken. Theprisoners delected with these diseases are pu-

130

SOME SNAP-SHOTS FROM PRISON LIKE

nished and hence they try their best to hide the

thing till the very end. Women here do not

know what chastity is nor have naten any sense

of what character is—brute passions rage nakedand unbridled in this hell.

CHAPTER X.

SOME SNAP-SHOTS FROM PEISON-LIFE.

nr^HE prisoners, thus thrown into a welter of-*- vice and deprived of all hope and ex-

pectation, develop most wonderful varieties of

character. Repeated punishment and dismal des-

pair make some terribly irritable and absolutely

cynical. Mahavira and Sayad were of this type.

When we first met Mahavira, he had had whip-

ping already more than half a dozen times. As for

handcuffs, fetters, cross-bar or penal diet, the

number of times he had suffered ' them was

simply incalculable. In appearance, he was tall,

sickly, ungainly, ferocious. The most filthy

131


abuse was always on his lips ; he would

mutter to himself day and night. The usual

epithets of abuse were not sufficient to give vent

to his anger, and he had to coin new ones.

Mr. Murray was short and dwarfish, so he was

dubbed Bateria {Bater is a kind of small bird ).

As for Mr. Barry, he had some hundred names

given to him. And all these hallowed names

Mahavira used to recite regularly every morning

and evening with all sorts of graceful grimaces

and ecstatic gestures ! He suffered from chronic

constipation and complete loss of appetite. Andhe was firmly convinced that this was due to

the same eternal kachu leaf that he had had to

take during the thirty years of his prison-life and

which had all been collected and solidified in

his stomach. For a roll of tobacco he fell at

the feet of anybody and everybody, showered

abuses right and left and even did not let off

God and all His brood for having thus thrown

him into misery. Whenever any Officer or

visitor came to inspect the prison, Mahavira

was sure to present himself, of all persons,

with bis endless complaints and ceaseless

132

SOME SNAP-SHOTS FROM PRISON-LIFE

meanings. And finally whatiia shower of bless-

ings he poured out from his inimitable voca-

bulary, when he saw that none of his com-plaints were remedied.

Sayad was an old man, tall in stature, with

a white beard, blood-shot eyes and a vicious

tongue. He was as clever in flattering as in

abusing and quarrelling. All the qualities that

Mahavira had, incarnated in him. Besides, he

was sometimes quite pleasant and jolly. If he

got a bit of tobacco he frisked and jumped

about with his eyes almost protruding out in

delight and gave a demonstration' of his skill in

gadka ( a small baton )play with all sorts of

queer gestures and postures. Now and then

he thundered out with a terrible cry, "Bomkali kalkuttawali " ( Victory to Kali, goddess of

Calcutta); and when the th.ought of his cruel

fate overwhelmed him he shook the whole Jail

with his curses and invectives. He had an in-

satiable desire for good dishes. He would name

in one breath an infinite list of all varieties of

drinkable, lickable, munchable dainties— Pilao,

Korma, Kopta, Kabab and so on. He would

133


say with heroic gesticulations, " Such things

only can Sayad eat and to say that he gets ins-

tead Kachu leaf and arhar dal ! woe is me ! woe

is me 1 O God ! O the Merciful ! " In the block

where he was lodged none could have a wink of

sleep at night. He would sit down at the closed

door of his cell and abuse to his heart's con-

tent till somebody came and gave him his night's

ration, that is to say, a bit of tobacco. At times he

would almost bring down the whole prison with

his formidable yellings, " O-o-h my cellular dar-

ling ! Oh 1 Thou scavenger of a Barry ! Godcurse thee ! " 'The best way of punishing a manwas to put him in the neighbouring cell to

Sayad's. The people of the block were relieved

only when any of the warders or prisoners,

unable to bear any longer the uproar, sent him

a roll of Sookha. Sometimes, according to the

order of the Jailor, water was poured upon his

head as soon as he began to shout. It was Sayad's

nature to suffer himself and make all others

suffer. In the end, however, Mr. Murray took

pity on him and released him from the prison

by making him a guard in the garden of the

i34

SOME SNAP-SHOTS PROM PRISON-LIFE

lunatic asylum. We heard that after this act of

kindness he left off abusing altogether.

Murga was another celebrity in the Kala-

pani. His build was that of a Hercules. He was

black, hairy, huge and ghostly. His bushy

moustache would have quite easily made a good

broom-stick. Mr. Barry would, with the simple

bait of an extra dabbu of curd or a few plan-

tains, yoke him to the oil-mill. Murga and his

worthy compeer Shera could press out each

80 lbs of oil a day. Formerly the amount of oil

required from each prisoner was only 20 lbs. But

now, by the grace of Mr. Barry and these two

myrmidons of his, the amount was increased to

30 Ib-^. When the Superintendent saw the ex-

ample of a man who easily ground 80 lbs, he

immediately concluded that every labourer must

be capable of at least 30 lbs. It was in this way

that the wily Jailor gradually increased the out-

put of each and every item of work. The priso-

ners enjoy no longer the golden days of yore.

I met in the Jail some two or three young

Burmese, aged only 16 or 17 years. The Bur-

mese generally turn here opium-eaters, gamblers

135


and vicious characters. But among them To-ah,

Fon-ahn and another whose name I forget were

really good souls. But of course that was no

reason why they should not kill one or two

people every year. The Pathans and the Punja-

bis were nothing short of brutes and always

pursued the young and fair and pretty Burmans.

And when these refused to be drawn into sin-

ning, they conspired with the Tindals and

Petty Officers and brought endless trouble upon

the poor innocent folk. All the prisoners have

tobacco or some such contraband article in their

secret possession and anybody can get anybody

punished by playing the traitor. It was easy also

to punish a prisoner by stealing a part of his

daily output of work. Besides the Court was such

that it did not hesitate to chastise any man sent

up on a false accusation of assault or intimida-

tion. Only I saw Mr. Murray trying to do a little

bit of justice. Otherwise, it was all the justice

of the sort meted out by our old kajis. Fon-ahn

was hauled up several times for murder. After-

wards we got him employed in the press as a

paper-cutter. The good treatment that he receiv-

136

SOME SNAP-SHOTS FROM PRISO^f-LIFE

ed there made him pass a year safely without

any case put up against him and he was released

from the prison. God only knows what is in

store for him now outside.

Kartik, a cobbler by caste, was a dacoit.

Stout of heart, strong of body, full of enthu-

siasm and battle, he ,took to dacoity as a game.

In other respects he was a very kindly soul.

The man whom he loved, he would serve with

his life. One d^y Upen delivered to him a long

lecture in the usual style on Hindu-lVIosIem

Unity. He heard the whole thing quietly and

dittoed it, but in the end put in a question,

" What the little master says is all perfectly

true, but can he tell me what would be the fate

of these people who could never in their whole

life utter even for once the sweet name of

Hari?"

He was not pleased, if instead of being called

kartik, he was given the more gentlemanly form

of his name kartic chandra. There was nothing

that he could not do for his little master. Herendered all sorts of kindly services to Hemrfa,

when the latter was employed in the forest.

137


He had no equal in angling.

Love and affectioii are all here, but very

much deformed. Examples of one man sacrificing

himself for the sake of another are to be found

every day, but that sacrifice is polluted with the

mire of vicious passion.

There are even saintly souls here. Mathura

Singh worked for 10 or 12 years in the prison

and rose gradually from a Petty Officer to a

Tindal. A more pious and gentle nature can

hardly be met, I never heard a single word of

abuse from his lips. His body did not imbibe a

tinge of sin in this domain of evil. Sometimes

indeed hethreatened to strike people and upraised

his thirty-pounder of a fist, but as it landed it

transformed itself into a caress and he got things

done, as it wei^e, by magic. All his threats and

menaces were like the vain demonstration of an

autumnal cloud. He liad infinite sympathy for

the convicts. He was ever filled with trepidation

and his eyes rolled wide in fear of what the

Sahib might or might not say. He could not

take food or water without reading every day

the Ramayana of Tulsidas. He was absolutely

138

SOME SNAP-SHOTS FROM PRlSON-LlFE

simple, meek and innocent like a child. To lock

up a man like him in a prison amounts almost

to infanticide. In the end he was let off on

ticket of leave, that is to say, he got the privilege

of earning his livelihood freely to some extent.

The Gate-keeper of the Cellular Jail was a

man of Sagar, named Takat Sing. He had not

much of English education, but seemed never-

theless to be highly cultured. He could under-

stand the great problems of the day, whether of

India or of the world in general. He had been

sentenced to transportation^ because a servant dr

labourer of his committed a murder in connexion

with a dispute about land or property. He was

a good soul and belonged to a high family, but

the effects of sorrow and suffering were nowcoming upon him gradually. You cannot uplift

a man by punishing him. It is a gi eater crime

than murder to corrupt a pure and innocent

man by throwing him, into the very heart of vice

and sin under the excuse of punishment. ThePenal Code knows only to penalise, everything

there is rigorously punitive. A man may commit

murder all on a sudden under severe provoca-

139


tion or uncontrollable impulse, but he gets trans-

portation for life. Does he merit it ? In America

the mental growth of a criminal is taken into

consideration when punishment is awarded. A

man may be 40 years old, but his intellectual

stature may be that of a child of ten ; in such a

case, surely the punishment should be propor-

tionately less heavy. Besides, it is a grave res-

ponsibility to take charge of a corrupt charac-

ter. If I cannot reform him and render him his

good character, what right have I to despoil

him of his personal' liberty ? The day has cer-

tainly come when these things should be

thought over and the prison rules framed accord-

ingly anew.

Criminals of deficient or undeveloped

mentality should be put in charge of sympathe-

tic, noble-hearted and cultured men. But the

Andaman arrangements do quite the opposite

thing. Here the prisoners who are cunning and

careful are never caught and their jail-tickets

remain clean, that is to say, possess no black-

mark due to any case or accusation. Generally

it is these people who are later on raised to the

140


dignity of a Petty officer or Tindal or Jamadar.

The Superintendent, when considering the pro-

motion of a prisoner, does not look into his real

character, but sees only whether there is any

case or conviction against him in the jail his-

tory sheet.

Mirza Khan was a Pathan. In the course

of my Bohemain life I have travelled over manylands and seen much of men and things, but I

have rarely met a more cunning, creature than

he. He was a Petty officer, finally became a

Jamadar and ruled many years over the Cellular

with a mighty sway. In Satanism and vicious-

ness Golam Rasul was a mere ignorant child to

him. Uncle Rasul might have sat at his feel for

10 years as a disciple and yet would have

hardly reached the level of that red- bearded, red-

faced, smooth-tongued Pathan. There were no

prisoners so turbulent that Mirza could not put

them down ; if ever there were they could be

counted as one or two. " If God protects none

can destroy, and if God destroys none can

protect." The same thing could be said of Mirza

during his rule in the Andamans. By his astute-

141

THE TALE OV MY EXILE

ness and by flattery he held Mr. Barry under

his thumb and did what he liked. In his reign

the only people that were happy were the

Pathans and those who gave themselves com-

pletely up to him. For the rest it was a terrible

purgatory. At the instance of Mr. Barry or when-

ever he wanted to take vengeance, he could in

the twinkling of an eye concoct cases against

the most innocent, and as for the most daring

and indomitable he heaped upon them punish-

ment upon punishment, beat them, harrassed

them till they were completely crushed. He was

usually amiable towards the strong, but ferocious

towards the weak. He intercepted the secret

correspondence of the political prisoners, got

them punished on flimsy technical grounds and

it was by these services that he secured his

Jamadar-ship. When he approached any of us

with a friendly smile, sweetly addressing us

"Babuji", it was certain that evil days were in

store for the poor Babuji. We were in perpetual

dread as to whose turn it would be next to fall

a prey to Mirza Khan.

The tyrant and the bully have generally a

142


weakness for flattery. The only way of escape

from Mirza was to accost him as Jamadarji,

salaam him every moment and also to chat with

Mr. Barry in his presence. All things were

permissible to one who talked to Mr. Barry.

There was another way and that was to have a

strict eye over him. He was given to vice and

bribe-taking and he tried his best never to

molest one whom he knew to be in the know.

If you ever gave him a hint that you v/ere

acquainted with his secrets, he would immedia-

tely come to buy you off with lemon or tobacco

or some such thing.

There was no end to the number of such

tyrants and bullies among the Tindals and

Petty officers and Jamadars. The prisoners,

surrounded as they were with such a host of

enemies, had always to be ready with means,

fair or foul, to defend themselves. The one

perpetual anxiety that haunted them day and

night was how to save their life. And what a

miserable life it was, when day and night you

had to smile anyhow a wooden smile and do a

thousand obeisances to your many masters !

143


The higher officials, either the Superintendent

or the Chief Commissioner, do not know of

these httle griefs of the everyday life of a pri-

soner. They come only at times to inspect and

do not live with the poor creatures, The subor-

dinate officers, like the Overseer, know manythings, but they too have their secrets. In the

fear that their own delinquencies might be

exposed they simply shut their eyes to those of

others. They connive at everything incon-

venient. An under officer like Mr. Duggon,

who had really a kind heart could not do any-

thing alone by himself and so had to remain

quiet. He could see to justice only in respect of

cases that came up to him personally. Then

he tried his best to act up to his conscience and

threatened the wicked and gave protection to

the weak as far as it lay in him.

144

CHAPTER XI.

A SUMMAEY OF SORROWS.

'T^HE Jail commission appointed by the-'- Government of India came to visit

Port Blair in January, 1920. I give below the

gist of the memorial that was submitted to it on

behalf of the political prisoners :

—

( 1 ) Port Blair is not fit for the habita-

tion of prisoners for many reasons.

(a) The climate here is very unhealthy.

It is the home of malaria. Besides, dysentery

and phthisis also find here a very congenjal

atmosphere. The perpentage of deaths is more

than double that of India. ,,

(b) In no civilised cpuntry there is any

place like this that is used even for trans-

portation. Visitors, either official or non-official,

do not come here generally. The means of

remedy that are open in the jails in India are

absolutely wanting here.

(c) The Government of India incur a

great loss for the upkeep of Port Blair. It will

145


ever be a burden to the Government to main-

tain for the sake of a comparatively small num-ber of prisoners 'such a tremendous army of

guards, policemen, sentries and various other

officers.' :. '

, .

'r-j i

(2) If the purpose of punishrnent is to

reform character, then certainly that end has

not been achieved in Port Blair. Men whoare already vicious become doubly so after

coming here. So severe is the iron rod of

rule here that people have perforce to learn

lying and cheating simply for the sake of sav-

ing their skin. And everybody is too muchoccupied with himself. To come to the help of

others means courting punishment. So the

nobler qualities of man not only do not find

any play but are rooted out altogether. In other

countries efforts are made to teach and educate

the prisoners so that they may become better

men. But here there is absolutely nothing of

the kind. The system that is prevalent here is

only another form of the old slave trade.

( 3 ) No kind of differentiation is made

between prisoner and prisoner. Those who are

146

A SUMMARY QK SORROWS

punished for smaller crimes are made to live

with veteran and hardened criminals. As a

result, they too contract all the viciousness p^

the latter.

(4) Character is usually, formed through

the influences of family and social life. Thq

prisoners are deprived of any such amenities.

They cannot even write letters to their homes

more than once in a year. Affection and sym-

pathy and all the softer sentiments dry up very

soon in their hearts. They even cease to care

about their future release. The prisoners gon-

demned to transportation for life are not let off

eyen after 20 or 25 years. It is no wonder that

people whose future is one mass of dismal dark-

ness should either become inert, insensible,

machine-like objects or turn cruel and violent

and vicious.

( 5 ) And yet although they toil as slaves,

they do not enjoy the fruit of their labour.

The Government condemns a murderer to trans-

portation for life and extracts an infinite amount

ofwork out of him. But not the least portion of the

benefit goes either to the family of the murderer

147


or even to the family of the murdered. Their

children, through want of money, do not, it maywell be, get any education. Perhaps finally

these innocent creatures run riot and become

lost souls. The Government refuses to recognise

that it has any duty towards them and yet it

does not shrink from appropriating the product

of the labour of its prisoners.

(6) Some of the works imposed upon the

prisoners, such as cutting wood in the forest,

preparing brick and lime, extracting rubber are

really so difficult that very often (hey try to run

away in fright and many commit suicide when

not able to get back home. Particularly, the

Petty Officers and Tindals and other underlings

are so corrupt and so tyrannical that the ordi-

nary prisoners have to suffer most woefully

in their hands. It > is almost impossible to get

any redress for these wrongs.

(7) There is no arrangement for decent

medical treatment. First of all, prisoners are

often refused admission in the hospital, for there-

by the work su£f^«;. And then even if they are

admitted, they do not get proper medicine or

i'

148

A SUMMARY OF SORROWS

diet. Besides; the hospital contains phthisis pati-

ents also. There is no separate ward for these, nor

for dysentery patients nor, as a matter of fact, fof-

any infectious disease. There is almost no ar-

rangement for surgery. The task of looking after

the health of about 800 convicts devolves upon

a single sub-assistant surgeon. He has to attend

the patients in the hospital and after that he

finds hardly any time to see the condition of

the prisoners within the Jail. The MedicaL Su-

perintendent comes only twice or thrice a week

to inspect the Jail ; for he has the charge of

other hospitals in Port Blair, including the

female hospital as well; So many duties have

been imposed upon one man that he cannot do

anything properly well.

(8) The prisoners are allowed to marry

after a period of 10 years. Then they may go

out in the villages and take to cultivation or any

other occupation. But the females number so

small in proportion to the males that most of

the latter get no chance at all to marry. There

are of course thcJse who are already married

before but their wives and children generally do

U9

THE TALE OF Uy EXILE

not want to come to Port Blair and live with

them. And then the women who are lodged in

prison as convicts are of such a type that manyshrink from building a home with them. Almost

a new race has evolved from the alliance of

convicts and convicts and their moral sense of

family and social life is simply revolting. The

only remedy of all these evils is to make some

arrangement that the prisoners may after ^ certain

term get back their wives and children and hve

with them.

(9) Those who after ten years becomp" self-supporters in Government Service " get in.

the beginning a monthly salary of Rs. 7 only.

Out of this amount the sum of 8 annas is dec

ducted every month for lodging in the Govern-

ment barrack. With the remaining six rupees

and a half one has to meet all expenses ag re-

gards food, clothing and every other necessity.

Under such circumstances it is quite natural for

the prisoners to take recourse to stealing. Of

course they are punished when caught. But who

is really responsible for this- crime and vice of

theirs ? The current rate of monthly allowance

150


was fixed long ago; since then ^prices of all

things have gone up at least three times. Butthere is none who cares to give even a chance

thought^to the difficulties of the prisoners. Theyare merely machines to turn out work for the

Sarcar. They are not men.

(10) There is a considerable number of

boy prisoners in . Port Blair whose ages vary

from 17 or 18 to 20 or 22. They are kept under

the charge of Petty Officei;s and Tindals; whoare mostly unmarried and have no character.

The revolting oppressions they have to suffer at

the hands of these latter cannot be described in

any decent human language. The very shame

of it often prevents them from complaining to

the authorities ; and even if they do, it is more

often than not crying in the wilderness.

If really any improvement is desired, the

first thing to be done is to break up the esta-

blishment in Port Blair. If it is desired to re-

form the character of the prisoners, then family

life must be introduced among Iheni. But the

wives and children of ordinary prisoners would

not like to come over to Port Blair., And y€t

151

THE TALE OF MY KXILE

society is absolutely necessary ; without it no

moral amelioration is possible.

If the Settlement is continued in Port

Blair, the mere financial difficulty would make it

impossible to look to the necessities of health

and hygiene. The former Senior Medical Offi-

cer Dr. Farnside and the present Officer

Dr. Murray have both of them recommendedthe abandoning of Port Blair as a penal settle-

ment. As a matter of fact, no useful purpose is

served by keeping up Port Blair, save perhaps

maintaining a few unnecessary and unworthy

officials.

POLITICAL PRISONERS.

The political prisoners have to suffer muchmore than the ordinary prisoners. The standing

orders of the Government are that they should

be treated exactly in the same way as the latter.

The consequences have been that they not only

have all the ills of the latter to their account,

but do not enjoy many of the rights and privi-

leges which the latter are allowed. An ordinary

prisoner, if he knows reading and -writing.

152


may in the end go outside the Jajl and get the

work of a munshi or a clerk. But the politicals

are shut up all through within the prison.

They are all educated men, but most of themhave to pass their days in making ropes or

pounding coir.

The classification of the ordinary convicts

is not at all applicable to the political prisoners.

These should be grouped separately and given

better treatment. To force and coerce and op-

press them is useful to neither party. The illi-

terate do not suffer at all for want of books and

papers. But it is not the case with political pri-

soners. And yet the Government has made no

arrangement as regards the supply of what is a

necessity to the literate. The few books that

were collected in Port Blair were the property

of the political prisoners. The Government did

not spend a single pie over them.^

Thq political prisoners are prohibited from

talking to each other. So if more than one fall

ill at the same time, they are not taken to the

hospital but are kept locked up in separate cells.

There is no arrangement for proper ventilation

153


in these cells, except through a very small sky-

tight. Even a healthy man feels suffocated in

such a place and the feeling that one has, when

ill and left alone, should better be experienced

than described.

One does not get proper food and nourish-

ment but has to undergo physical labour to

which one is not accustomed. One does not

get proper treatment in illness but has to suffer

punishment at every step. But the greatest in-

fliction is to lead one's life under the orders of

low and ilUbred people. It will unhinge any

man even, jn ordinary circumstances, not to

ppeak of a prisoner, to be so hunted and insulted

all the 24 hours. It is quite an inevitable eventu-

ality that many should try to find release through

suicide. Those only whose hearts have turned

to stone can bury their pain and count their

days in the hope of a future.

What is the meaning of this tragedy ? Is it

to be called just punishment or revengeful op-

pression ?

1S4

CHAPTER XII.

A PERSONAL WORD.

A^UR friends and relatives are certainly anxi-

^^ ous to learn how we all passed our days

of grim calvary in the Andamans. But it is not

possible for any single man to know and tell the

inner history of so many minds. So I will speak

of myself only and that may perhaps incidentally

offer a glimpse into the secret movements of

other hearts that suffered the same sorrows and

shared the same pains.

I was in a state of sweet self-intoxioation,

almost beside myself in a sort of overwhelming

beatitude, when I was counting ray last days,

with the halter round my neck and shut up in

the " condemned cell". I was then face to face

with Death, and alone and away from the world,

I was playirtg with it most amorously and trying

to snatch the veil of the beloved one. For Pain,

its messenger, had already whispered into

my ears, " Behind that dark veil there is the

most radiant 'and soul-entrancing beauty". So

155


the more I was bent upon tearing off her cover-

ing, the greater was the obstinacy of my beloved to

disclose herself. You will perhaps ask me, "Were

you not afraid of death ?" Indeed I was and it

was therefore that tears flooded my eyes, through

all that sunshine of happiness, when I listened to

the order of Jianging. It seemed to me that this

time God was going to take away by force every-

thing—mysoul and mind and body—what I could

not in any way give up to Him. It was ever mylot to harbour in my bosom the ragings of a

thousand confusing emotions at the same time.

I was shaking in fear, my heart was beating fast

and yet a delight of entire consecration welled

up into tears. My sorrow-stricken and prostrat*

heart was lamenting, " O God of Love and

Beauty ! I yearn for the touch and smell and

sight of thy infinite playthings of this world.

Do not put out the light that yet brightens myearthly home. I shall not find relief in death,

for now is my time of sweet honey-moon. The

hour is not yet come when my insatiate desires

would have found repose in thee and when

dying would be sweet with thy Presence trans-

156

A PERSONAL M'ORD

fused in my soul ". And my soul' at th'6 saittfc

time, full of renunciation and ascetism, in a

yogic equanimity, chanted in an opposite strain,

" As bubbles of water rise out of water and die

down in water even so the mind melts away in

nothingness". It was, as it were, that the same

house witnessed at the same time a sombre fu-

neral and a joyous festivity. I do not know if

anybody else had a similar experience, but thus

it was with me.

Life demanded me still and so one day

I learnt that my death sentence had been com-

muted to transportation and that I must give up

hoping for death and prepare' myself, in return,

to be buried alive. Then the curtain lifted again

over a new enactment of life's double strain of

pleasure and pain on the stage of the Andamans.

Those who dwell in pleasure and seek pleasure

most certainly feel an unbearable pain if all on

a sudden a crash and catastrophe befalls th6m.

Their whole soul cries out for the happiness that

is no more. But the calamity that struck us

down was of our own making. It was we our-

selves who opened the way for the evil and in a

157

THE TALK OF MY SXILE

way welcomed it. A pain that we invited onourselves, however lacerating, could not natu-

rally overwhelm us. The more we suffered, the

more it made us smile. The course of true love

is never indeed smooth. The dangers and diffi-

culties of the way lend an added zest to the

venturing spirit. And yet pain is pain and wefelt the suffering. No doubt, we were free-lances,

though without the lance, but we were creatures

of flesh and blood.

Our sorrows were many. The greatest of

them was the want of company. The orders

were strict that we should not talk to each other,

even though we might be close together and in

the same block. What a wail we smothered in

our hearts when we walked together, eat together

and worked together and yet could not open

our mouths 1 We could indeed steal glances,

whisper a half-uttered word now and then, but

allthat served only to increase our suffering.

Whenever we were caught unawares in our un-

lawful conversation. Uncle Khoyedad thundered

out, " you Bengalees, be a bit modest !" It was

a task, indeed, always to be "modest" in this way.

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PERSONAL WORD

We accused the gods and chafed and murmuredwithin, "This is not what we expected. Weadmit that we rushed to the deliverance of our

country, but is that a sufficient reason that weshould be ever confronted with the grin\aces and

threats of these whiskered Kabuli duennas ? Andwho the deuce possesses such an infinite fund of

modesty as to be able to draw upon it intermina-

bly at a moment's notice every now and then ?"

As if we were no better than the living baggage

that is known in Hindu Society as the divinely

modest and obedient and devoted consort! Could

the fates be more perverse? That was how we first

experienced the woes and terrors of the Purdah.

The food difficulty was not so very pain-

ful in the beginning. But as days wore on, the

disma! monotony of the same dish every day

—

rice and dal and Kachu leaf—began (o tell

upon our nerves. The farther we left behind

the atmosphere of the motherland and the

more we inhaled the air of the Andamans, the

greater was our repulsion to food and the keener

our discomfort. It was the mere sense of duty

and the cruel necessity of hunger that made us

159


eat. The amount of moderation and contrpl

that we achieved was a thing certainly to be

coveted even by the Yogis. ,i

Poor famine-stricken India also might

have taken a wholesome lessonfrom ourexaraple.

It is said, that the cow of a Brahmin eats

very, litle but yields plentifully both milk and

dung. We too were something belonging to

the same category. A prisoi^er eats little, but

, toils quadruple-fold. The daily ration per meal

is as follows—Rice 6 oz., flour for rati 5 oz.,

dal 2 oz., salt 1 dram, oil | dram and vegeta-

bles 8 oz. No distinction is made here between

prisoner and prisoner. A ravenous giant like

Koilas and a grass-hopper like me were both

given the same quantity of food.

The only hopeful feature of the situa-

tion was that one did not require much eating

in this country. A few days communion with

the air and water of Port Bl^ir is sufficient to

uplift you to the supreme stage of dyspepsia.

And whatever hunger and desire are left, dis-

appear altogether when you know of the

marvellous banquet that awaits you ! So one

160

A PERSONAL WORD

can easily imagine what a delight it was for us

toi get, after a year or two of : the same old

routine, any variation in the shape of sweets or

some thing else however trifling. One daya Pathan warder, Sayad Jabber by name,while on duty at night, brought me secretly

a dish of meat, I do not know whether anyfood prepared by the famous Draupadi herself,

could have been as savoury as that dish, with such

a gusto did I devour it. Another day a veteran

convict named CharHe gave me to eat ordinary

roti smeared with sugar and fresh coconut oil.

I can say quite honestly that even the Mihidana

of Burdwan never tasted to me so sweet. After

the life of suffering and want that we led in the

Andamans the lot of the rich rolling in luxury

and surfeited with daily banquets appeared to

us really pitiable. There are none else who have

been so cruelly deprived of the joy of the palate.

Even kings do not know the heavenly delight

that a pauper feels when in the midst of his

life-long misery he gets an occasion or two to

taste a dainty dish. Hunger is the best sauce

—

that is a siinple truth that is always true.

161


Another thing which poisons Hie in the

Andamans is the want of freedom. What a joy

it was for us, when after a confinement of two

years in that huge pile of bricks, called a prison,

we found ourselves free one day, outside in the

Settlement, on the occasion of the King's Coro-

nation ! I drank in with my insatiate eyes, like a

passionate lover, the beautiful vision of a Nature

dressed in green and displaying her mountain

tresses.

The jail authorities know very well what it

is for a man to lose his liberty. It is for this

reason that a convict has been deprived of free-

dom ; and again when that freedom is restored

to him it is done slowly, gradually, step by step

through a long process of fiery ordeal, making

him, as it were, pay for each dole. In the begin-

ning the man is shut up day and night in sepa-

r;ite confinement. Then he is let off in a veranda

fenced with iron railings. After that comes a

larger freedom in the yard and in the workshop.

And finally v. hen the period of imprisonment is

gone through, one is free outside in the settle-

ment. Now there are no walls around, no night-

162

A PERSONAL WORD

mare of Petty Officers and warders and Sahibs

at your heels to terrorise you. Yet even then,

on leave-days and at night, you have to comeback to be shut up in the barrack and present

yourself at the roll-calls.

After a life of two years' strictly guarded

confineftient, even that partial freedom in the

wide bosom of Nature was Very sweet to me.

It was a balm to my soul, so cruelly deprived

of all joy, to be able, on days of leave, to wander

about as I pleased in the quiet tranq\iillity of

the green woodlands. And yet that delight was

not all delight, poisoned as it was with the

thought that I must return soon to my daily

toils and pains.

Generally a prisoner when he has worked

outside for five years becomes a Tindal or Petty

Officer and draws a monthly pay. We had never

the fortune of enjoying such a large freedom.

Not only that, even after undergoing imprison-

ment and compulsory labour for 10 years, we

were not promoted to the *' first class " and had

not the joy of being self supporters on Re. 1 a

month. The-self-supporters who are let off on

Ids


ticket of leave can marry, if they like, from

^mong the female convicts. It is not even illegal

for them to choose their partners from the free

population, provided the Chief Commissioner

grants a permit. Also the free convicts whoalready have their wives and children at home

can call them over here and live with them. If

the sudden miracle of our release did not happen

we would have got perhaps the right of self-

supporting. As a matter of fact, something was

being arranged to that effect.

Through all this sorrow and suffering and

oppression and despair the' only companions

we dearly cherished were books. Nowadays,

I hear, third class convicts can send and receive

letters three times a year. But in our time wewere allowed to write only once a year and it

was also only once a year that we received news

of our friends and relatives. Labourer convicts

can get from their homes cloths, shirts, utensils,

books, slates and other articles that are not very

costly. But we were given books only ; if any

thing else came it was stocked in the godown.

Those of us who had the means at home could

164

A PERSONAL WORD

get some 20 or 25 books per year. All the books

were kept in the Central Tower and every Sun-

day morning one book was given to each for a

week. In the end, however, we exchanged books

as often as we liked with the help of the warders

and managed even to possess more than one

book at a time. It was a regular festive occasion

whenever any one of us got a parcel from home.

And how we planned and plotted to steal books

and what a joy it was for us when we succeeded!

The struggle for life made us pucca thieves

in many other ways. We would steal salt, chili,

and tamarind from the kitchen and coconut

from Number Seven. What a delicious chutney

we made out of these ingredients ! Even half-

baked bread and mere rice when mixed with

that thing could taste like heaven's ambrosia 1

It became almost a second nature to us to steal

and eat the tender coconut, and drink its milk.

And of course there was no end to the amount

of torn rags and coconut oil we stole in order to

clean our iron plates and dishes that had the

nasty habit of always getting rusted. We got over

the trouble only when we, were allowed monthly

165


pay and could buy brass utensils.

After about six years we got permission to

cook our food ourselves. Our kitchen was a hut

with tinned roof, about 5 cubits long and 3

cubits wide. Cooked rice, dal and rati were

supplied to us from the prison kitchen* We pre-

pared only vegetables, egg or fish that we bought

in the market. So gradually our daily meal came

to be after all not a bad thing. We four of us

got 12 oz. of milk per head from the SaTcar.

That was used for our morning and afternoon

tea. The last two years of our stay we prepared

even pilao, luchi^ meat and whatever else weliked on the Durga Puja day and the Christmas

day. Hem Chandra and Upen were star-artists

in cookery. So it was they who did the daily cook-

day. And what surprises they flung on me every

day with their novel and unheard of prepara-

tions ! I cooked only on Sundays. We formed

even a vegetable garden round about our kitchen

with chili plants, mint and gourd-creeper. Ourtime for cooking was between 10 and 12.

There is joy in a picnic, because it is a no-

velty and a matter of only once on an occasion.

166

A PERSONAL Word

But only the dumb toilers of our zenana knowand we also knew to a certain extent what it is

daily to shed water through your eyes and nose

in lighting the oven, to get half cooked yourself

in cooking and after that to rub and clean the

utensils. Then only we learnt that one and one

do not make a couple but that the wife forms

the major portion, the husband is only a frac-

tion. Upen used to heave deep^sighs and lament,

"Alas, only the Goswamis are happy in Bengal.

I once saw a Goswamiji sitting under a tree, in

a beatific and ecstatic pose. One sevadasi ( a wo-

man devotee ) of his was massaging him with

oil ; for it was time for the master to take his

bath. Another was arranging and preparing the

materials for cooking and a third was blow-

ing with her beautiful lips at the oven and was

busy cooking ; for the master should be served

with the offerings of the devoted. And yet half

a dozen more had gone out into the village

singing and begging alms, for the master re-

quired ganja, tnalpo (cakes) and also bhoga

for the night ". I do not know what sociology

says about it, but that polygamy is of immense

167


utility in Port Blair would be readily conceided

when it is remembered that there after the

day's heavy and crushing toll one has to dp

one's own bed, one has to massage one's ownUmbs.

And yet our delight was not small even in

the midst of such sorrows. For it is a thing that

belongs to one's own self. One may gather it

as much as onS likes from the inexhaustible

fund that is within and drink of it to one's

hearts' content. Not that, however, the lashes of

sorrow were an illusion to us. Even the Maya

of Vedanta did not always explain them away,

so often had they a solemn ring of reality about

them. But a tree requires for its growth not only

the touch of the gentle spring, but the rude

shock of storm and rain and the scalding of the

summer heat. Man remains frail and weak and

ill developed if he has an easy and even life.

The hammer of God that builds up a soul in

divine strength and might is one of the supreme

realities.

THE END.

168

BOOKSBY

SKI AUROBINDO GHOSE

Speeches ...

War and Self-determination (2nd edition

)

Ideal and Progress (2nd edition) ...

Superman ( „ „ ) ...

Evolution ...

Thoughts and Glimpses

Ishopanishad

Renaissance in India ...

The Ideal of the Karmayogin

Yoga and its objects ...

Uttarpara Speech

Brain of India

' Yogic Sadhan (?nd edition)

' Ahana (2nd ed. in Press)

* Baji Prabhou

Love and Death

Arabinder Patra (In Bengali)

Dharma O Jatiyata ( „ ,,

Gitar Bhumika ( „ ,,

Kara Kahini( „ „

Pondicherir Patra ( „ „

8. A.

1.

w.^.

'.*-f

^fVi\

</:?'/v^

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